A flight full of holidaymakers jetting off from Newcastle to Crete was diverted to Athens after TWO failed landings on Monday.

Passengers on a Ryanair flight from Newcastle Airport to Chania on Monday (March 27) complained of “terrible service” and said “swimming might’ve been quicker” after they were hit by delays and diversions.

The flight, codenamed FR410, took off more than two hours later than scheduled on Monday morning at 8.58am destined for the sunny city of Chania on the Greek island of Crete.

Read more: EXCLUSIVE | 'He dreaded going to hospital': Family claim 'compassionless' care led to son's death

The plane, a Boeing 737, came in to land in Chania shortly before 2.50pm local time before coming around for a second failed landing about 15 minutes later.

It then landed safely at Athens airport around an hour later at 4pm.

One passenger branded it “terrible service”, while another posted on social media to joke that “swimming might’ve been quicker”.

Passengers have been put up in accommodation in Athens and will depart for Chania tomorrow, almost 24 hours after they were meant to arrive.

To get more stories direct to your email basket go here 

Ryanair has since confirmed that the flight was diverted due to high winds, but no other flights at Chania were forced to divert on Monday.

A spokesperson for the budget airline told The Northern Echo: “This flight from Newcastle to Chania (March 27) diverted to Athens due to high winds at Chania Airport.

“To minimise disruption to passengers, Ryanair has arranged overnight accommodation in Athens and alternative transport to Chania Airport departing tomorrow (March 28).

Read next:

Get more from The Northern Echo with a Premium Plus digital subscription from as little as only £1.50 a week. Click here

“We sincerely apologise to affected passengers for any inconvenience caused by this weather-related delay, which was entirely beyond our control.”

It comes just a week after TUI announced new destinations from Newcastle Airport taking off this winter.

Holidaymakers will have the choice of two new African holiday destinations over the winter season as part of the airline biggest-ever winter programme from Newcastle Airport with flights to the sunny island of Sal, Cape Verde and Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt.