Ryanair and a French airport have criticised one another after a aircraft sure for Scotland was pressured to U-turn on the runway after it was found a passenger in a wheelchair had been left behind.

The price range airline blamed Bordeaux Airport for the blunder, branding the incident “unacceptable”.

Ryanair mentioned the airport failed to supply the passenger with “the special assistance required” and claimed the crew had been “misinformed” that each one passengers had boarded.

In response, the airport refuted Ryanair’s account of occasions and mentioned the passenger and her companion had been current within the boarding lounge below the accountability of the airline, “who decided to depart without taking its own customers into account”.

Flight FR 6700 was attributable to depart from Bordeaux to Edinburgh at 10pm on Tuesday.

The aircraft had began to taxi on to the runway for take-off when the error was found. The pilot then returned to choose up the lacking passenger and her companion.

Ryanair mentioned it was working with the airport to make sure “this does not recur”.

In a press release, the airline mentioned: “It is unacceptable that Bordeaux Airport failed to provide this passenger with the special assistance required to board this flight from Bordeaux to Edinburgh despite Ryanair paying for this service.

“Not solely did they fail to board this passenger, however they misinformed the crew on this flight that each one passengers had been boarded when in actual fact this passenger had not, and the plane started to taxi on to the runway.

“Ground staff at Bordeaux Airport realised their error and notified the crew who returned to stand in order to board the passenger.

“It is abysmal that Ryanair clients requiring particular help are being let down by Bordeaux Airport and we’re working with them to make sure that this doesn’t recur.”

Bordeaux Airport branded Ryanair’s statement “false and defamatory”.

The airport said the passenger requested wheelchair assistance from the airline on purchasing her ticket and on arrival was assigned an agent from a company mandated by the airport to facilitate her movements up to boarding.

A spokesperson said: “It must be identified that in all this time, the passenger remained below the accountability of the airline organising her transport. The airport is just an infrastructure operator.

“When boarding for the flight to Edinburgh began, all passengers were directed towards the aircraft by Ryanair’s service provider. The passenger in the wheelchair and her companion were present in the boarding lounge at this time, visible to Ryanair staff and under their responsibility.

“When the help assistant took cost of the passenger and her companion to escort them to their plane, they realised that the Ryanair groups had closed the plane doorways and the plane was shifting.”

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Bordeaux Airport mentioned that is when the pilot was notified and returned.

The spokesperson mentioned: “The airport acknowledges that the agent in charge of escorting the passenger from the boarding gate to the aircraft should have arrived at the gate sooner, and will take all necessary measures to limit customer waiting time.

“However, the 2 passengers in query had been checked on to this flight. They had been current within the boarding lounge below the accountability of Ryanair, who determined to depart with out taking its personal clients into consideration.

“It must also be pointed out that the service mentioned by Ryanair is in no case paid for by the airline company, but by all passengers, able-bodied or not, who pay a tax for the provision of said service.

“It is very regrettable that the airline has taken the freedom of describing a scenario with out talking to us beforehand, inserting the blame for a fault of its personal on the airport.”