Love Island winners Dani Dyer and Jack Fincham have been caught up in flight delays that have ruined the travel plans of thousands of Britons.
More than 150 flights have been cancelled or delayed to and from London’s Stansted Airport on Tuesday due to bad weather, including the flight from Palma Majorca carrying the eight Love Island finalists.
The Love Islanders flight was delayed by 1 hour and 20 minutes.
Ryanair, which has its largest base at Stansted, said it was forced to cancel a number of “first wave flights” to and from the airport because of the weather.
The problems was exacerbated by Air Traffic Control staff shortages in Germany, France, Greece and Croatia, the airline said.
Fincham updated fans on their progress home by sharing a video on his Instagram story of himself and Dani boarding the plane in the sunshine, while Kazimir Crossley, who came third with boyfriend Josh Denzel, shared a video of the group on a transfer bus at the Spanish airport.
Crossley also shared a video of crowds and queues of fans waiting to take photos with contestants Wes Nelson and Megan Barton Hanson, who came fourth on the show.
The delays came as Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary on Tuesday threatened to move more jobs to Poland if the airline’s business is hurt by widening strikes by crews in Europe.
The airline, the largest in Europe by passenger numbers, pledged in December to recognise unions for the first time but it has struggled to reach collective labour agreements with some.
Its pilots in Germany voted overwhelmingly on Monday in favour of striking, adding to Ryanair’s recent labor woes after strikes last week by Dublin-based pilots and stoppages by cabin crew in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Belgium.
Pilots in the airline’s smaller market of the Netherlands added to the pressure on Tuesday by backing industrial action in a vote it said was a necessary “wake up call”.
Ryanair, which operates from 86 bases in 37 countries and carried 130 million passengers last year, has already said it plans to move crew and planes from Dublin, saying strikes there are harming bookings.
O’Leary, Ryanair’s chief executive, said on Tuesday that he is prepared to cut jobs “in any market” if necessary.