Vueling passengers on Barcelona-Marrakech flight stuck on plane for four-and-a-half hours

The Vueling flight was due to have taken off last night (Friday) at 17.00 for Marrakech, but it did not leave the runway until 21.30 – and nobody was allowed off the aircraft in the meantime.

Under European Union airline rules, a delay of more than three hours means passengers are entitled to at least refreshments suitable for the length of time they are forced to wait and, except where a flight is held up due to 'extraordinary circumstances', to compensation of €250, and overnight accommodation and transport as necessary.

“It gets better by the minute. Four hours stuck on Vueling flight 7332 and they won't even give us anything to eat – not even a stupid snack,” said one Twitter user.

Another, at 19.39, wrote: “Vueling flight 7332 – two hours and 39 minutes on the plane, and we can't even breathe!”

The 180 passengers were already starting to become fed up by 18.20, as seen by a tweet published by user Alicia Ranz (@uarethestaar, who took the above photograph).

“VG7332-BCN: We've been on the plane for an hour and 20 minutes already, plus however long we still have to wait,” the traveller wrote.

Guardia Civil officers had to board the craft to calm down the disgruntled passengers when, by 21.00, they were starting to become extremely vocal.

Repair and maintenance works on the main runway at Barcelona's El Prat airport, combined with bad weather – rain and high winds – led to several delays from the terminal yesterday and practically every flight was affected.