EasyJet deny claims that pilot took a vote on whether to fly plane with ‘faulty engine’ from Malaga

PASSENGERS flying with EasyJet from Malaga to Bristol on flight EZY9958  have claimed that the pilot took a vote on whether to take off from the Costa del Sol  airport after engine problems.

The flight had already  been delayed from 8 June for  36 hours because of technical issues. EasyJet say they provided passengers with meal vouchers, hotel accommodation and regular updates while the engineering team worked hard to try and get passengers to get to their destination as soon as possible.

The weary travellers finally boarded the plane early on Saturday afternoon, thinking they were going home at last, only for the pilot to tell them he couldn’t start one of the engines.

Some passengers have claimed that while the aircraft was still at the boarding gate in Malaga the pilot then came out of the cockpit, explained the situation and asked for a show of hands on who wanted to make an attempt to fly back.

But EasyJet have strongly denied the claims after a report of the incident appeared on the Gloucestershire Live website.

A spokesman for EasyJet said: “The pilot attempted to use one engine to start the other engine as is normal procedure.

“Because he was aware that the passengers had already been considerably delayed due to a technical problem the pilot asked the passengers if they would like to get off or remain on board whilst the engine start up sequence continued.

“It was then decided to fly the passengers back on a replacement aircraft.

“At no point did the pilot ask passengers, or would ever attempt, to fly the aircraft without both engines working correctly.”