Stranded Brits are sleeping on airport floors with only chocolate bars for nourishment as the air traffic crisis rumbles into a second day – amid anger at the lack of support and compensation from airlines.
Dozens more flights have been grounded today on top of more than 1,200 cancellations yesterday after National Air Traffic Services (Nats) suffered a ‘technical issue’ preventing it from automatically processing flight plans.
Thousands of holidaymakers have been left stuck as a result, with some being told they won’t be able to get a flight home for a staggering 12 days.
In the meantime, families have scrambled to secure hotel rooms for their unexpectedly prolonged stay, often at inflated prices, paying hundreds of pounds per night.
The boss of the Civil Aviation Authority confirmed today that passengers can expect to be provided with food and drink as well as accommodation if delayed overnight.
However, scores of people reported having to spend the night sleeping on the floor of airports, with many more complaining about the lack of a proper meal.
Ken Blanks, a 71-year-old from Bristol, said he and his wife had to turn down a £50 per night night hotel in Las Palmas until the next flight in just under two weeks because they cannot afford it.
He blasted easyJet for not offering them anywhere to stay and not communicating with them, telling The Sun: ‘I’ve finished my holiday in Gran Canaria but there’s nobody from easyJet talking to us. They don’t care a damn about us.
‘The next flight is in 12 days so we are stuck here. The airport offered some families with kids hotels but they have to keep getting taxis there and back. It’s 200 euros from the airport to the hotel. No one has the money for it. I can’t afford a hotel. And there’s nobody here to tell us anything.’
This evening easyJet announced it would run five repatriation flights to Gatwick following ATC fault. Flights will be offered from Palma and Faro tomorrow, and Tenerife and Enfidha on Thursday August 31 and from Rhodes on Friday September 1.
Read More: Wedding plans in chaos, no flights to UK for ’12 days