UK travel disruption leaves Clydebank couple stranded

Barry Twigg-Adair insists his week-long wedding anniversary trip with husband Aallan to the Canary Islands has been ruined after his flight back to Scotland was cancelled on Monday night at the 11th hour.

Flights were plunged into chaos on Monday after a technical glitch caused havoc with air traffic control across the UK.

However, Mr Twigg-Adair – who says he has had to spend £1,000 on three flights in order to get home by the end of the week – believes his airline Ryanair did very little to support the despairing passengers.

Travellers were unaware what was going on in the airport (Image: Supplied)

Speaking exclusively to the Clydebank Post from Gran Canaria, Mr Twigg-Adair said: “We got to the airport an hour later than they were meant to because the transfer didn’t come in time, and we were met with this long queue for Ryanair to check us in and take our luggage.

“It looked like two or three flights.

“That took about an hour to get through and then we got through security and everything, but then the flight times kept changing and getting later and later.

“At one point it changed to 11 o’clock in the morning the next day, then it changed back to 10.30pm at night.

“And it stayed like that until just before boarding.

“Then, a couple of people managed to get through boarding, and walked down the gangway, but then the flight crew who had come over with the Edinburgh passengers decided they had been working too long so they weren’t taking any passengers back to Scotland.

“So, they took an empty flight home instead of staying in Gran Canaria and taking all these passengers home with them.”

Mr Twigg-Adair explained Ryanair staff told him the next available free flight home was on September 8 – 11 days in the future.

And the couple were told they were free to look for alternative accommodation to stay in and that the airline group would reimburse them.

However, not convinced by the offer, the pair found themselves a self-catering hotel that would let them check in during the middle of the night.

On Tuesday morning, the couple found a route home – a flight leaving Las Palmas on Thursday which includes stopovers in Amsterdam, Frankfurt and then back to Scottish soil.

“It has ruined this holiday,” a frustrated Mr Twigg-Adair continued.

“It’s a shame because it’s the last one we are going to be on for a while.

“It is actually going to cost us more now for this extra bit, than it actually did for the holiday in total.”

Mr Twigg-Adair fears the knock-on impact of an extra few days on the Spanish island has still to be known.

He revealed he has used up all his annual leave from his job at the NHS Beatson Cancer Ward and his car parking at Edinburgh Airport will need to be extended – at a further cost.

And he worries the final bill at the end of this week will be sitting at over £2,000.

He finished: “We decided last night, if we ever go on holiday again, it will be a package deal.

“After seeing what Jet2 offered their customers, they actually walked around the airport looking for them.

“We didn’t have anybody come speak to us until an hour after they cancelled our flights.”

A Ryanair statement read: "As a result of the latest UK ATC Failure, more than 20 Ryanair aircraft were unable to get back to their home base last evening and a considerable number of our crews ran out of their legal duty hours limit yesterday. We expect some flight cancellations and considerable flight delays today caused by this latest, still unexplained, NATS failure.

"We apologise sincerely to customers for these cancellations and delays. Our teams are working hard to minimise inconvenience to our passengers."