Northern Ireland passengers 'absolutely gutted' after delayed flights cause travel chaos

Northern Ireland tourists have said they're "absolutely gutted" after travel chaos left resulted in them sleeping on the floor of an airport in Greece due to a series of flight cancellations.

Hundreds of people were due to travel from Rhodes to Northern Ireland on Wednesday night.

Their flight, which was managed by travel company TUI, was cancelled due to a "technical issue".

The firm organised a rescheduled flight for Thursday but it also didn't take off.

Kirsty Creese was one of those hoping to get home.

"We went through security, we went through passenger control, we came up to the departure gate and at around 2am we were told that due to a technical issue the flight had been cancelled," she explained.

"Everybody was absolutely gutted."

Once Wednesday's flight was cancelled, passengers had been hopeful they'd get home on Thursday, but that didn't happen.

Many chose to stay in the airport, refusing to go accommodation after bad experiences the previous evening.

"They were shouting in our faces last night for not taking a one or a two star hotel that passengers had been at the previous night and had found cockroaches, bugs, dead rats, blood up the walls in hotels," Kirsty told UTV.

"The communication has been horrendous," she added.

"I didn't even receive an email on the Wednesday to say the flight was cancelled, I had to depend on other passengers to give me information.

"I'm yet to receive an email from TUI to tell me the first flight was cancelled."

In a statement sent to UTV, TUI said: "We understand the frustration of customers."

In relation to Wednesday evenings flight, the company said: "The Sunwing operated aircraft was delayed due to a technical issue which meant the flight crew were over the legal working hour limit."

As for Thursday's flight, TUI said the "technical issue needed further work".

"With the safety of our customers and crew in mind, the difficult decision was made to extend the delay," the statement continued.

Addressing passenger concerns about accommodation TUI said: "We are sorry to hear that some guests were not satisfied with the accommodation provided.

"Our teams will be in direct contact with customers to investigate further."

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