Dozens of people from Northern Ireland have been left stranded in Tunisia after their EasyJet flight back to Belfast was cancelled and the airline told them it had no other flights available for another 10 days.
A number of people have scrambled for alternative journeys back to Northern Ireland, with one man saying he has spent more than £4,000 to get his family of five home.
Some told BBC News NI of passengers running out of medication in the days since the cancellation on Saturday, while others criticised EasyJet over a lack of support and communication.
EasyJet has said it is operating an additional direct flight to Belfast on Tuesday night, and that it was “very sorry” for the inconvenience.
BBC News NI understands more than 100 people were booked onto the cancelled flight that was due to leave Enfidha-Hamamet Airport three days ago.
Stuart McCartney, from Dromore, County Down, said he had spent thousands on accommodation and flights to get his family home via a flight to Brussels.
“I’m willing to pay £4,000 to get us home, if needs be, and then battle for reimbursement if I have to after that,” he said.
“But we shouldn’t have to pay. My holiday was a fraction of what I’m paying to get home right now.”
McCartney said EasyJet provided two nights of accommodation but then told the family to find alternative accommodation for the rest of the delay.
He said his mother Katherine, who accompanied his wife and children on the trip, relies on heart medication and they have had to keep a close eye on her remaining supply as the delay continued.
An EasyJet spokesperson said they were “very sorry” that the flight had been cancelled and that the company “have been doing everything we can to support Mr McCartney, providing hotel accommodation and meals and we will be reimbursing expenses that may have been incurred”.
Another woman, Martine Murray, said she had run out of an inhaler to treat her COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and is anxious to get home to her mother, who is seriously ill.
Chloe McGinty, a student from County Donegal, said it had been “an absolute nightmare”.
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