Dozens of tourists were allegedly locked in a sweltering airport corridor for an hour, only to find out their flight had been cancelled.
Holidaymakers waiting to board an easyJet flight to Manchester from Pisa, in Italy on Tuesday were trapped in the hot and stuffy corridor with no access to water or toilets.
Temperatures in the space allegedly soared to 30° leading some to feel faint while others attempted to break their way out through a fire escape.
After being released from the corridor passengers were told their flight had been cancelled.
The delays meant some were left waiting around for eight hours, while they tried to sort out hotels and onward travel.
EasyJet has apologised for the cancellation and the discomfort experienced by its customers but said passengers were in the corridor for no more than 30 minutes.
Among those caught up in the delays were Neil Rylance, 52, and his dad Joe Rylance, 83, from Bangor, North Wales.
Neil, who runs a software company told MailOnline the delays meant his group of eight would be stuck in Pisa for an extra two days.
He estimated that the disruption caused by the experience and cancellation would cost his family more than £2,000.
Neil described the situation as ‘chaos’.
‘There were three easyJet flights all thrown together with nobody organising where we meant to be going,’ he told MailOnline from Pisa.
‘Every single person who was meant to be on the Manchester flight was locked in this corridor – locked at both ends.
‘Within 10 minutes it was getting hotter and hotter and hotter.
‘We tried to kick down a fire exit just to get some air for people.
‘There was no representative from easyJet seen in the whole of this experience.’
Neil said the stress had taken its toll on his dad, and the rest of the family who had looked forward to the trip for a long time.
‘Communication is so important, but there was absolutely none of it,’ he added.
‘I just wish they talked to us, let us know what was going on. We still have no idea what happened.’
Neil and his family were not the only ones to express their frustration at the delays and easyJet’s customer service.
Natalie Yates tweeted: ‘We’ve been delayed already and now ushered into the boarding tunnel with no food, water or toilets and people are fainting and overheating.
‘No communication, and no way out.’
While Martin Brady said: ‘Absolute s**tshow from @easyJet at Pisa airport yesterday.
‘Eight hours in the airport to be told it’s cancelled, after being held in a tunnel without access to food and drink. Madness!’
In a statement, a spokesperson for easyJet said: ‘We are very sorry that flight EZY1848 from Pisa to Manchester on 21 June was delayed and subsequently cancelled.
‘The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is our highest priority and our team did all possible to minimise the impact of the delay for our customers.
‘While no issues were raised to our team, we are sorry for any discomfort any customers experienced while initially waiting to board and our team escorted customers back to the terminal and provided refreshments.
‘Once the flight was cancelled, customers were offered the option to rebook, or receive a refund, and we are also providing hotel accommodation and meals in Pisa.
‘Once again, we are sorry for any inconvenience caused.’
Flying has become fraught with recent weeks as airlines and airports struggle to cope with demand as people return to flying after the pandemic.
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