Essex family 'stranded' in Greece amid flight chaos

Lynsey Fitzpatrick said communication had been "utterly dreadful"

A woman said her family would be stuck in Greece until next month due to chaos caused by a fault in the UK's air traffic control system.

Lynsey Fitzpatrick and her family, from Fordham, Essex, were due to fly to Gatwick on Saturday after a Rhodes trip but bad weather cancelled their flight.

On Sunday they got caught up in the issues and their new flight got pulled.

She has since been put on a flight with her operator Easyjet on 3 September. The firm apologised for the disruption.

Ms Fitzpatrick 47, said the new flight was "far too late", with her seven-year-old daughter due back at school next week.

As the family had booked a package holiday, the airline organised alternative accommodation.

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Ms Fitzpatrick said her two weekend flights out of Rhodes had been cancelled

"My daughter is really upset. We've had a really nice time but she's not great with flying. It's utterly dreadful. The communication is appalling. We feel stranded," Ms Fitzpatrick said.

"It's been a catalogue of disasters, one followed by another.

"I feel for the people on flight-only deals who are having to sort out accommodation. It's horrendous."

An Easyjet holidays spokesperson said it was working "around the clock" to support customers and was actively looking for alternative flights.

"Once again, whilst the situation is entirely out of our control, we understand the situation is frustrating, and we're really sorry that Lynsey and her family's holiday has been impacted," the company said.

At least 281 flights have been cancelled at the busiest UK airports on the second day of disruption.

This consisted of 75 at Gatwick, 74 at Heathrow, 63 at Manchester, 28 at Stansted, 23 at Luton and 18 at Edinburgh.

In Essex, London Stansted said it was operating a "near normal flight schedule", with some delays and cancellations still possible.

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