Expert explains why you are not allowed to leave the plane if your flight is delayed after landing

Every day dozens of flights are delayed for some time around the world. Sometimes the delay is only a few minutes, and sometimes passengers have to sit in their seats for hours.

There is a well-known case when a Ryanair passenger plane got stuck on the Spanish island of Gran Canaria. Passengers were forced to spend the whole day in the cabin, which eventually led to scandals and quarrels with airline representatives, according to the Ladbible.

As dozens of passengers spent Monday sitting in immobile airplanes, many of them wondered why they couldn't just get off. However, it's not that simple, because airlines cannot allow passengers to leave the cabin.

The explanation is quite simple. Even if the plane is delayed for more than one hour, it does not mean that it is crossed out of the air traffic controllers' plans. The fact is that the flight schedule is like a living organism and it is constantly changing.

When there is a problem with air traffic control systems, the aircraft is waiting for a slot so that it can take off and head to its destination. But the peculiarity of the air traffic system is that it is not clear how long the delay will last. It can take an hour for the airplane to take off, which can then be delayed again.

At the same time, the aircraft should be ready to fly as soon as a slot is available. Of course, this cannot happen if all the passengers are somewhere outside the cabin. In this case, they will have to be searched for again and boarding will have to be organized, which will take some more time and will likely lead to another flight delay.

It's not hard to guess that it takes time to disembark all the passengers from the plane, and boarding must be done again to make sure that all the travellers are back in their seats. This can again trigger another flight delay.

Although it is obvious that passengers are very annoyed if they sit for hours in the cabin of an airplane that is on the runway, all this is done for their comfort and speed of travel. According to European air transportation rules, passengers should be offered the opportunity to get off the plane if the aircraft has been stuck for five hours.