200,000 holidaymakers stranded by air traffic chaos & face up to 2 weeks’ delay – as UK air boss doubles pay to £1.3m

HOLIDAY Britons caught in chaos over plane delays last night faced two weeks of being stuck after it emerged the head of Britain’s air traffic control had doubled his salary.

Around 200,000 angry passengers have been told their first flights home could be at the end of next week.

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Britons caught in chaos over plane delays face being stranded for two weeks, pictured children forced to sleep on airport floorCredit: BPM

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It comes as the head of UK air traffic control has doubled his salary, in a picture of embittered former Celtic boss Neil Lennon at the check-in counter at Glasgow AirportCredit: News Group newspaper

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Manchester Airport early Tuesday morning as stranded passengers try to get some sleep Credit: Zenpix

Aviation boss Martin Rolfe’s total pay has reached £1.3m.

Furious tourists face rising costs for food and hotel rooms with no idea who is footing the bill.

Megan Gaffney – stranded on Fuerteventura with her first flight only on September 7 – said: “I have four children with me who are so upset and scared.”

Airport staff said there were no hotels available, but she and others demanded action. Megan said: “They found somewhere at 2am where there were at least 20 or more people.

“We have to check out at lunchtime and we have nowhere to go.”

A “technical error” since Monday led to the cancellation of 790 departures and 785 arrivals – 27 percent of all flights – leaving many aircraft and crew in the wrong places.

The government and the National Civil Aviation Authority ruled out a cyber attack, but did not deny speculation that it was caused by a false flight plan that was mistakenly entered by a French airline.

The disruption meant NATS had to enter flight plans manually.

The company’s latest annual reports admit that it is using old systems that have had a longer lifespan than originally planned.

The Civil Aviation Authority is investigating the disturbance.

She discovered a loophole in the law that means she is not entitled to additional compensation from airlines if the disruption is caused by “extraordinary circumstances”.

Many fed-up passengers had to sleep in departure lounges, only to be told their flights had been canceled even after they had boarded.

Vicki Ostrowski is stuck in Oslo, Norway after attending her son’s wedding. She should be back on Saturday, but will be off her heart medication on Thursday.

Her group includes a wheelchair user with a neurological disease and an 83-year-old man.

Vicki said: “Today is also my 50th birthday, so the plans had to be cancelled.

“It’s already cost my group £1,000 for hotels for two nights, and despite the promise of a refund it’s not right.”

She said booking the flights earlier would have cost her party £4,000.

There was just as much frustration at UK airports with people unable to travel abroad.

Katrina Harrison and her family, including one-year-old twin grandchildren, spent the night at Leeds-Bradford Airport after their flight to Antalya, Turkey, was cancelled.

Mrs Harrison, from Stockton-on-Tees, said: “We tried sleeping on the floor. The holiday should be a family celebration. We spent £12,000 and were treated like rubbish.”

Former Celtic football boss Neil Lennon held his head in his hands as he waited for hours at Glasgow Airport.

He was going to London to work for Sky Sports. An onlooker said: “He looked stressed, hot and bothered.”

The airlines vented their anger at Natsu for the lack of information.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said: “We have not been given an explanation of the cause, and where were their back-up systems? Not acceptable.”

Around 250 Ryanair flights carrying 40,000 passengers were canceled on Monday and 70 were disrupted yesterday.

Additional disruption is likely in the coming days. At least 32 departures and 31 arrivals were canceled at Heathrow Airport yesterday.

BA was the hardest hit with around 60 flights cancelled.

By 9am yesterday, 147 flights departing from UK airports had been cancelled, along with 134 arrivals – five per cent of the total, aviation analysts Cirium said. The numbers were expected to rise throughout the day.

Transport Minister Mark Harper announced an independent review of the breakdown, the worst since 2014.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “I know people are going to be hugely frustrated.”

Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe apologized last night and said: “While we have resolved the issue quickly, I am very aware that many people are still feeling the knock-on effects at such a busy time of year.

“I would like to reassure everyone that as of Monday afternoon, all of our systems are operating as normal to support airline and airport operations as they recover from this incident.”

• Additional reporting by Natasha Clark and Ashley Armstrong

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200,000 passengers have been told their first flights home could be at the end of next week, pictured above long queues at Gatwick AirportCredit: Peter Jordan

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A ‘technical fault’ since Monday led to the cancellation of 790 departures and 785 arrivals, 27 per cent of all flights Credit: Jon Bond

NO CASH, NO HEART DRUGS

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Ken and Lisa Blanks fear they will be stuck in Gran Canaria for 12 days Credit: Ken Blanks

KEN Blanks and wife Lisa fear they will be stuck at an airport in Gran Canaria for 12 days.

They couldn’t afford the £100-a-night airport hotel offer.

He also has heart problems and is terrified that his medication won’t last 12 days.

Ken, 71, from Bristol, said: “I’ve finished my holiday but there’s no one from easyJet to speak to us.

“The next flight is in 12 days, so we are stuck here. The airport has offered some families hotels, but they have to constantly take taxis there and back. It is 200 euros from the airport.”

POSTPONED UP TO SIX DAYS

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Rory Dollard, wife Joanne and children Emily and Arthur, stranded at Bergerac AirportCredit: PA

CRICKET correspondent Rory Dollard, 40, has been told it could be six days before his family arrives home.

The PA Media writer, his wife Joanne, 40, and children Emily, 10, and Arthur, eight, are fighting for a flight from Bergerac Airport in France.

Ryanair passenger Rory, from Skipton, North Yorks, said: “It’s difficult with the language barrier to work out who is responsible for the hotel costs.”

STRANDED ON A SPANISH ISLAND

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Phil Crawford, 62, was shot in Palma and won’t be coming home anytime soon

PROPERTY consultant Phil Crawford, 62, has been left stranded and fears he has no chance of returning home any time soon.

He told The Sun that he had arrived in Palma, Majorca with his partner on August 21 and was due to return home on Sunday.

Phil, from Manchester, said: “At the moment we have no prospect of going home.

“I booked our hotel because easyJet doesn’t offer us anything. They just don’t care. This is the third night in a hotel that we are paying for, food, meals and transportation as well.

“We have checked return flights anywhere in the UK.

“I’m very happy to go anywhere else. There doesn’t seem to be anything available.”

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