“Two people passed out and other people threw up due to the heat,” she said.
Gregory, who was traveling with her mother and brother, said she felt sick and experienced a panic attack. She was particularly worried about elderly passengers, whom she described as “extremely distressed.”
She also claimed the airline did not provide free water, including to passengers experiencing medical problems. Despite that, Gregory praised the cabin crew, saying they “absolutely did their best” while dealing with conditions they had not created and could not easily fix.
Aircraft windows, of course, cannot simply be opened for ventilation. Aviation has several firm rules, and keeping the cabin attached to the plane remains one of the more sensible ones.
What did Ryanair say about the delay?
Gregory said she wanted the incident publicized so Ryanair would “fix its mistakes and stop valuing money over the passengers.”
Ryanair said a “minor technical issue” caused the initial delay. The flight was then held up further after a passenger became ill on board.
“Following an inspection of the aircraft by engineers, the aircraft was cleared to operate, and this flight departed Malta at 7:00 PM local,” an airline spokesperson said.
The air conditioning reportedly began working once the plane took off. Flight FR7268 eventually left Malta about 90 minutes behind schedule.
The airline did not directly address Gregory’s claim that passengers were denied free water during the delay. It also did not dispute her account of the cabin conditions in the statement provided.
Other recent cabin incidents
The Malta delay follows several other reports of unpleasant conditions aboard Ryanair flights. In one case, passengers were removed from an aircraft after refusing to sit in seats covered in vomit. Another journey descended into toilet-related disorder after the crew reportedly served prune juice to around 100 travelers while only two toilets were available.
A separate recent incident involved a woman reportedly helping to save her husband after a cabin window shattered and he was nearly pulled outside. None of those episodes was connected to Flight FR7268, but together they make a persuasive case for passengers checking more than the baggage allowance before departure.
