Airport is hit by Christmas chaos

Delays at security and misleading instructions from airport staff meant that many passengers were left stranded with their holiday plans ruined, they say.

Zsizsa Farkas, a student from Luton, was flying to Budapest to spend Christmas with her family, but she spent more than an hour queuing to go through security and was directed to the wrong departure gates twice, resulting in her and 30 to 40 other passengers missing the flight.

Miss Farkas said: “I am so disappointed. I can only afford to go home twice a year and Christmas is so important to my family. My dad managed to get time off work and all my relatives will be there except for me. The airport staff just didn’t care, they sent us to the wrong gates and they were rude. I was so excited but now it’s ruined, I am so upset. I had to call my mum and hear her crying down the phone, it is horrible.”

Elinor Newman, 20, who was travelling with her father to Malaga to spend Christmas with her family, missed her flight because staff told her to go to the wrong queue.

Miss Newman said: “It was a complete nightmare. When we left the airport the place was chaos. People were crying as they were being told they couldn’t get away until after Christmas, people were shouting and frustrated.”

Elinor and around 60 other people from her flight were told there were no other flights available until after Christmas, but when she later looked online at home she found some for the next day.

Elinor said: “We literally had no idea what was going on, and no one was around telling us where to go or what to do.”

A Luton Airport spokesperson said: “It is always bitterly disappointing when passengers miss their flight. The airport takes very seriously its role to ensure passengers are not inconvenienced and delayed. However, passenger safety and security is the airport’s first priority and therefore no allowances to the search process will ever be made. During the very busy Christmas period it is vital that passengers heed the advice to allow plenty of time to get through.”