EASYJET has cancelled more flights due to staff shortages, leaving passengers stranded at the airport.
The flight cancellations affected people travelling to and from Belfast, with people saying they were forced to sleep on the floor overnight.
The affected flights included flights to and from Bristol, London Gatwick and Faro but a memo explained they would not be able to go ahead.
According to local media, the easyJet memo said: "We’re sorry that your flight has been cancelled.
"This is due to earlier disruption your flight resulting in the crew reaching their maximum legal working hours. This means we had no option but to cancel your flight.
"There are strict industry wide rules on the number of hours the crew are allowed to work. To protect the safety of our customers and crew these cannot be exceeded."
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Fuming passengers complained on social media.
One dad wrote: "@easyJet left my daughter and friend stranded at Belfast airport not assisting to find accommodation after earlier flight to Bristol cancelled. Shocking service."
Another wrote: "Absolutely deplorable service 2nite in Gatwick on flight to Belfast.
"No assistance anywhere. Even border control & what poor Easyjet staff were available (they were dumped on) were sighing & visibly had no idea what was happening. Flights cancelled everywhere."
A third claimed they were "kicked out of Bristol airport" due to the cancellations, only to arrive at a hotel they were told had been booked, but it wasn't.
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Someone else agreed: "Flight cancelled at Bristol airport, staff telling to leave the airport and not providing accommodation. Next flight not till tomorrow morning. Noone answering help line."
Others were left in tears: "My step-daughter has rang in tears to say there’s no staff, there’s nowhere open to even buy a bottle of water while she has to stay in airport overnight?"
An easyJet spokesperson told Sun Online Travel: "We did all possible to minimise the impact of the disruption for our customers and customers were able to transfer to an alternative flight free of charge, or receive a voucher or a refund.
"The quickest and easiest way for customers to book a hotel and transfer to an alternative easyJet flight is always via Manage Bookings or through the easyJet app, and we also had a number of dedicated staff at Belfast airport available to assist. Customers can also contact us by phone to discuss other rerouting options, in line with EU261, and we always aim to reroute customers within 24 hours.”
"While this was outside of our control, we are very sorry for the inconvenience caused by the cancellations. The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew is our highest priority.”
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The airline has been forced to cancel hundreds of flights in recent weeks due to staff shortages caused by Covid.
And British Airways has also cancelled hundreds of flights, reducing their schedule until the end of summer due to similar problems.
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