Ryanair passengers allegedly staged a revolt onboard after their flight was delayed by several hours, stealing alcohol, cigarettes and perfume and abusing staff.


The flight, from Rabat in Morocco to Paris, was diverted to Madrid when a passenger became ill, and by the time it took off again Beauvais airport was closed for the night so it was forced to land in Nantes.


After passengers were told they would have to spend the night in Nantes they allegedly raided the aircraft of food, drink and duty-free items including alcohol, cigarettes and perfume, according to the French newspaper Metronews.


The paper said the police were called and, after a few hours in a hotel, the passengers were put on coaches to Paris.


However, Ryanair played down the incident, insisting there was no mutiny. The airline said passengers were provided with overnight accommodation and bussed to Paris the following morning.


"Ryanair apologised sincerely to all passengers affected by this delay."


Meanwhile, the airline says its customer loyalty rating has jumped since it improved its service with a package of measures including an easier to use website, a 24-hour grace period for minor changes to booking errors and a second carry-on bag.


It said its latest survey of over 10,000 passengers revealed 97% would fly Ryanair again, up from 93% last March, and 88% said they would recommend the airline to a friend, which was 4% more than last year.


On February 1, Ryanair will introduce allocated seats on all flights.