HOLIDAYMAKERS are in the middle of a travel nightmare after pilots battled to land in Bournemouth on Sunday – before finally abandoning their efforts altogether and returning to Prague. 

Some of the passengers aboard Ryanair flight FR8208, which took off from Václav Havel Airport in Prague, ‘screamed and hyperventilated’ after the plane attempted to set down in Dorset three times.

However, Storm Ciara’s high wind speeds meant pilots finally had to abandon their attempt to land. The plane was then diverted to Brussels before returning to Prague.

Customers say they can’t return until Thursday. However, the airline will only pay for one night of accommodation, leaving travellers out of pocket.

One passenger told the Daily Echo: “London airports were closed so we flew into Brussels. After about 90 minutes on the plane, we were told we were flying back to Prague.

“More than 100 of us were left stranded at the airport with no representatives from Ryanair. Security were called at one point as people, some with children, were not being told how we could get home.

“Most stayed in hotel last night and we have been offered a flight back to Bournemouth on Thursday.”

Another told of how some of the women and children onboard were “crying and screaming” and one passenger suffered a serious panic attack during the “horrendous” landing attempt.

A spokesperson from Ryanair said: “The aircraft landed normally and passengers disembarked. Unfortunately, due to severe weather disruptions, the flight was then cancelled.

“Affected customers were provided with hotel accommodation and notified of their options of a refund or free move to the next available flight.

“Ryanair sincerely apologised for this cancellation, which was entirely beyond our control.”

Many have taken to Twitter to complain to the airline company.

Luke Bale said: “Despite weather warnings and failed landings, [Ryanair] decided to put all our lives, not to mention our mental health, at risk by flying us from Prague to Bournemouth yesterday.”

The storm also caused problems for others.

A Tui flight bound from Bridgetown in Barbados to Manchester was forced to land at Bournemouth at 6.44am on Sunday.

Customers of a Ryanair flight from Malaga to Birmingham also had to make their way home after the plane landed at Bournemouth instead.

Others were much luckier. A Tui flight from Turin landed at Bournemouth ahead of schedule, while flights from Malta, Malaga, Dublin and Lanzarote safely made it back to Dorset – albeit later than planned.