HUNDREDS of Ryanair passengers were stranded at a French airport on Saturday night, including families who spent the night sleeping on foam mats in a school gymnasium.
Around 600 travellers, including 150 Scots, were forced to stay overnight in Grenoble after evening flights to Prestwick, Stansted, Luton and Dublin were cancelled due to high winds.
Scottish holidaymakers described the "chaos" in the airport as queues of hundreds of travellers struggled for information on hotels and alternative flights.
Ewan Ogilvie, 41, from Glasgow, was one of "three coach loads" of travellers forced to sleep on the floor of a school gym due to a lack of accommodation in Grenoble. The sub-contractor and his friends, Eddie Burns and Josh Hardy, eventually made it back to Glasgow the following afternoon, after spending £1000 among them on flights.
"It was absolute mayhem in the airport," he said. "There was no communication. We were told, we have no information for you' - basically stop asking us, go away'. All there was was the airport service desk and the queue for that was so long that we didn't ever make it to the front.
"While we were waiting in the queue we heard the morning's flight to Stansted was already full, so we felt we had no choice but to make our own way home.
"We decided to hire a car to drive to Paris but, just as they were handing over the keys, we heard an announcement saying there were spaces on a flight to the East Midlands.
"We belted round to the gate but when we arrived we were told: No - it's full'.
"We were told that there were no hotel rooms available in Grenoble that night, so we bedded down in the airport, but then at 2am they announced it was closing for the night. Buses arrived to take us to a gymnasium where we slept on foam mats on the floor.
"There were about 200 of us, including families with young children. There were blankets but not enough to go around.
"In the end, we were up till the small hours booking alternative flights. We spent £1000 among us getting back to Glasgow via Gatwick.
"It was the attitude of Ryanair which shocked me. Any other airline would at least explain what was going on. But the airport was full of people stranded and unable to get information. It was carnage.
"There was no food, no accommodation and no subsistence. Basically, we were told, you're on your own'."
Under "denied boarding" regulations introduced in February 2005, passengers denied access to aircraft, or whose flights have been delayed or cancelled are entitled to compensation of up to 600 (£460).
The airline must offer to reroute to the final destination as soon as possible. Airlines are obliged to provide passengers with free meals and refreshments and, in some case, free lodgings for the night.
However, a EU report in November 2006 revealed that airlines had exploited the excuse of "extraordinary circumstances" and avoided payouts by citing matters beyond their control, such as weather, strikes and technical malfunctions. The commission warned airlines they had until October 2007 to begin providing passengers with the information, assistance and compensation required under the law, or face legal action.
A Ryanair spokesman said: "On Saturday, four Ryanair flights from Grenoble were cancelled due to high winds - the flights were to Prestwick, London Stansted, Dublin and Luton. Each flight holds 159 people when full, so it is possible that around 600 passengers were affected.
"The reason for the delay was communicated to passengers. All passengers were offered a full refund or alternative flights the next day.
"All passengers were given U261 forms to claim compensation. Passengers were entitled to reimbursement for hotel stays and reasonable expenses."
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