Police feed stranded air passengers

PRESTWICK, Scotland, June 25 (UPI) -- Scottish police officers said they comforted passengers stuck on the tarmac at Prestwick Airport with candy and bottled water.

The Ryanair flight to Girona, Spain, was delayed from 2 p.m. to around 8 p.m. by a French air traffic controllers strike, The Scotsman reported.

"Officers decided to monitor the situation and a decision was taken to purchase refreshments and hand them out to all the passengers on board," a spokesman for Strathclyde Police said. "Some of the passengers were slightly fraught after a delay in their flight departing."

Sarah Toom, one of the passengers, said parents with small children were especially upset. She said police showed up, announced they were looking for some way to get drinks and returned 5 minutes later to cheers from the 168 people on board the plane.

Ryanair offers discount travel, which means passengers have to pay for anything consumed on the plane. The airline said it was legally not able to open bars on board while the plane was on the ground.