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easyJet blames air traffic delay and 'airport curfew' for cancelled flight

Passenger's experience goes viral on Twitter

easyJet has blamed an ‘airport curfew’ for the cancellation of a flight to the Isle of Man which saw a woman recovering from cancer left stranded in London.

The evening Gatwick flight to Ronaldsway - EZY 855 - was shelved on Saturday with the airline offering an alternative flight two days later instead.

One of the passengers due to travel has branded the disruption – and subsequent treatment by staff at London Gatwick – as ‘absolutely disgusting’.

Ramsey resident Sharon Hotchkiss took to Twitter to vent her frustration in a Tweet that was liked by almost 25,000 social media users and re-tweeted by another 5,000.

She revealed how her party of six – including three children and her elderly mother who is ‘just getting over cancer’ – had been given ‘no help’ from easyJet staff who told them there were no hotels available.

The Tweet, which went viral, was sent just after 6pm – more than three hours later Sharon revealed the family was ‘still stuck at the airport’.

Just before midnight she Tweeted again: “Still stuck at airport with no help from easyJet. Nearest hotel has just quoted us £3,000 for stay. Honestly don’t know what to do now. Need to get my mum sorted.”

At 3.18am the following morning (26 June) Sharon confirmed that the family had arrived at a hotel in Brighton which was, eventually, sorted by the airline.

Manx Radio contacted easyJet for a response to the Manx family’s plight.

In a statement the airline said: “This was due to a delay caused by air traffic control restrictions which unfortunately meant the flight would not have arrived in the Isle of Man before the airport curfew.

“Our team has been in contact with the family to ensure their wellbeing and arranged hotel accommodation and transferred them for free to the next available flight.

“While this was outside of our control we are very sorry for the inconvenience caused by the cancellation.

“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is our highest priority.”

Manx Radio has contacted the Isle of Man Government for clarity over the ‘airport curfew’ issue.

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