Overview

• The airline said a smell detected in the rear galley during pushback at Palma on October 11 triggered checks and a roughly five-and-a-half-hour delay, after which the crew exceeded legal duty time.
• Instead of Zurich, the flight landed in Geneva at 18:20; most of the 172 passengers took a 20:25 train to Zurich, while a small group with connections stayed overnight in Geneva.
• Palma’s heavy traffic load—more than 27,000 flights in September, about 900 per day—heightens the impact of technical hold-ups, staffing issues and other single-point failures.
• Ryanair ground staff strikes in Spain are scheduled through December 31 on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in three daily windows (05:00–09:00, 12:00–15:00, 21:00–23:59), with unions warning of possible escalation to other handlers if no deal is reached.
• Local participation by Ryanair staff on Mallorca has at times been limited, yet travelers are advised to monitor airline updates as wider European labor actions—such as Belgium’s October 14 general strike and a potential, unscheduled Lufthansa walkout—could disrupt itineraries.