Family of eight are stuck in Gran Canaria as niece runs out of insulin

Stranded by Britain’s ‘international embarrassment’ air traffic controllers: Family of eight are stuck in Gran Canaria for a third day and running out of insulin for their young niece after catastrophic IT failure

• Airlines accused of ignoring laws that require them to support passengers 

Thousands of Brits continue to be stranded at airports this morning as the air traffic crisis rumbles into a third day.

Passengers have been warned they face waiting ten days for a flight home – costing thousands of pounds in accommodation – while others have been forced to sleep on make-shift beds laid out on airport floors.

Travellers are running out of medication, missing hospital appointments and risk not being home in time to start back at school or work. 

Airlines have been accused of ignoring laws that require them to support passengers, including offering food, drink, accommodation and return flights.

At the same time, a loophole means there is no right to additional compensation because the disruption has been caused by so-called ‘extraordinary circumstances’.

One traveller, Chanel Acheampong spoke of how she and her eight family members were still stuck in Gran Canaria.

Chanel Acheampong spoke of how she and her eight family members were still suck in Gran Canaria

Passengers have been warned they face waiting ten days for a flight home – costing thousands of pounds in accommodation – while others have been forced to sleep on make-shift beds laid out on airport floors

She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: ‘All we’re told is to speak to the information desk and they say it’s nothing to do with them. We ask where Easyjet is and we’re told they’re never down here, and it’s ground workers who have to book passengers in.

‘My niece is type 1 diabetic, she has an insulin pump and she’s literally got minimal insulin left. We told Easyjet this on the phone, who told us to go to a shop and buys some – you can’t buy insulin over the counter. We need to get home, she needs her medication.’

Meanwhile, fellow tourist Danny Underdown spoke of how his experience in Turkey.

READ MORE: Can I pay double to guarantee a seat? Is there any way I could get compensation? DEAN DUNHAM answers your questions 

‘We got to the airport on the bank holiday Monday and were told that our flight would be normal,’ he told GB News.

‘We got put into a waiting room, waited for about seven or eight hours, and were not told any information. Then a bus turned up in front of the airport and we were shipped off to a hotel about three hours away. 

‘We got picked up the next day, thought we were coming back to the airport but we were moved to another hotel. 

‘I’m now about eight miles from Dalaman. Some people here have got babies and are having to find their own nappies.’

Johnny Beattie was due to fly back from Faro in Portugal to Belfast with his family on Monday but now can’t get a flight back until next Monday, meaning his children will miss school.

He told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme: ‘When we arrived at the airport we got a notification saying our flight was delayed until later that evening. There was no communication from Easyjet staff on site though. 

‘When we were told the flight was cancelled everybody went into panic stations. Some people were already checking flights and saw we couldn’t get any until next Monday. 

‘So I was immediately onto the accommodation we just left and thankfully they had a spare house and they’ve been able to let us stay but we’re having to pay for an extra week. The accommodation is going to cost just under £1,000. 

‘My wife was due to go back to work Wednesday and the kids were supposed to be starting back at school. There’s been no further communication from Easyjet at all.’

The crisis has led to industry leaders calling on the Government and industry watchdog, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), to step up to stop repeat offending airlines from ‘wriggling out of their legal responsibilities’ without consequence.

Stranded passengers have been left to sleep on beds laid out on the floor at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Here is a view of the cot, pillow and blanket laid out for traveller Matthew Creed, 26, who became stuck at Schiphol Amsterdam Airport yesterday after his flight with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Edinburgh was cancelled

Tens of thousands of airline passengers have been left stranded across Europe after suffering flight cancellations due to the knock-on impact of an ATC fault. Data shows at least 281 flights – including departures and arrivals – were cancelled today at the UK’s six busiest airports

Matthew Creed paid for access to KLM’s Crown Lounges at Amsterdam Airport in order to have a shower and eat some food, with the hope of being reimbursed for the cost. Pictured are travellers preparing to sleep in the airport yesterday

The chaos, which ensued for much of Bank Holiday Monday, one of the busiest travels days of the year, was caused by a ‘technical glitch’ sent by the UK’s National Air Traffic Service .

Around 790 departures and 785 arrivals were cancelled across all UK airports that day, plus around 300 more yesterday. As a result, the travel plans of more than 200,000 people have been disrupted.

READ MORE: Air traffic control failure WAS caused by flight data received by NATS

The disarray comes as the boss of UK air traffic control, Martin Rolfe, has reportedly doubled his pay to £1.3 million, according to The Sun.

Meanwhile, travel consultant Paul Charles blasted the chaos. He told the Telegraph: ‘One flight plan corrupted the whole system. It is an international embarrassment that our whole air traffic system collapsed because of it.’

Last night it was confirmed that the failure stemmed from incorrect data being entered into the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) system.

The source of the issue has not been confirmed but last night Downing Street did not rule out a report that an inputting error by a French airline could have caused the chaos. 

Consumer champions Which? demanded immediate action from industry watchdog the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to force the airlines to help passengers. Travellers have spoken of being abandoned, with some forced to sleep on cold airport floors surrounded by cockroaches and without food or water.

The editor of Which? Travel, Rory Boland, said: ‘We’re seeing worrying reports of passengers being left stranded without support, and airlines failing to properly communicate with their passengers or fulfil their legal obligations.

‘In particular, travellers should be aware that their airline has a responsibility to reroute them as soon as possible, even if that means buying them a ticket with a rival carrier – a rule that some airlines appear to be ignoring.

‘Passengers should also be given food and refreshments and overnight accommodation if required.’ He added: ‘Passengers understand that this is not an issue caused by airlines, but are frustrated by the poor communication and lack of care they receive from carriers.

‘During travel crises we see repeat offending from airlines looking to wriggle out of their legal responsibilities knowing that they’re unlikely to face any real consequences for leaving passengers high and dry during periods of disruption.’ Mr Boland said the CAA should ‘stand ready to take enforcement action against any airline found to be failing in its responsibilities to passengers’.

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