A mother and her young child were among thousands of passengers left stranded in Paris after a UK air traffic control fault caused widespread flight cancellations. The technical issue, which occurred on Monday, led to the cancellation of more than 1,500 flights, according to aviation analytics company Cirium.
Sarah Skellern, from near Preston, Lancashire, described the scene at Palma de Mallorca Airport as 'absolute chaos' after her Jet2 flight was cancelled. She and her husband Barry, along with their two sons Toby, 10, and Gabe, eight, were forced to sleep on the airport floor. 'About three o'clock in the morning my youngest was in tears,' she recalled. The family eventually managed to get a flight to Manchester Airport on Tuesday afternoon.
Jet2 said it was working 'incredibly hard' to look after customers and was putting on extra flights to bring people home. However, many passengers reported being left to fend for themselves. Jayne, a 27-year-old stranded in Ibiza, described her experience as 'horrific' after her Ryanair flight was cancelled. She spent £2,000 on alternative flights via Holland and a ferry back to England.
Adam Ashall-Kelly and Christine Marriott fear they may miss their wedding in Italy after their flight from Manchester to Verona was cancelled. They have booked a new flight to Milan but are unsure if it will go ahead. 'We've looked at getting a flight to Paris and then a train, but there's strikes,' Mr Ashall-Kelly said.
The disruption has left many families struggling, with babies seen sleeping in suitcases and passengers missing important events. Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary called the air traffic control fault 'unacceptable'.
