'I have to work tomorrow': Edinburgh Airport passengers react to air traffic control issue
Passengers have been left scrambling to find alternative flights after cancellations
Passengers have described their frustration after flights from Edinburgh Airport were cancelled amid an ongoing disruption caused by a technical issue affecting air traffic control systems.
Holidaymakers at the airport said they had been left scrambling to find alternative flights, with some facing long waits before they could reach their destinations.
Sarah Römer, 32, had been on holiday in Edinburgh with her boyfriend for the past week when they were due to fly to Zurich with easyJet at 10.30am.
She received a message from the airline this morning informing her that the flight had been delayed, before she found out later it was cancelled.
Sarah said she had been told there were no seats available on the easyJet flights to Zurich until Friday.
“I'm really stressed,” she said. “I'm not feeling good. We're trying to find alternative options or connecting flights but I have to work tomorrow, so it's not good.”
Christian Linsen, from Switzerland, had been travelling around Scotland with friends for the past two weeks and was also due to take the 10.30am easyJet flight to Zurich.
The group have now rebooked onto a flight to Geneva tomorrow morning and plan to drive the rest of the way to Zurich.
“It is what it is,” said Christian. “ We've booked a hotel in Edinburgh for tonight and will go out in the town and have some beers.”
But he said the group had been frustrated by the lack of assistance from the airline.
“We've had no help from easyJet whatsoever and had to rebook everything ourselves. It's been very frustrating.”
Nick and Amanda, from Philadelphia, were also booked on the 10.30am flight to Zurich.
The pair had been visiting a friend in Edinburgh and planned to travel to Switzerland before driving to see Nick’s brother in southern Germany.
But despite the disruption, they said they were trying to remain positive.
“We’re trying to be optimistic,” Nick said.
The 35-year-old said they had enough flexibility to change their plans, adding: “We might do a fun pivot and go to Glasgow, or catch an early morning flight somewhere tomorrow.”
Amanda said: “There's no point in being upset about it because it's done and we can't change it.
“And we're not local so we don't have a grudge against the airport, these things happen.”
Meanwhile, Marie and Enda McClements, from County Derry and Northern Ireland, were left facing a long wait after their flight home was cancelled.
The couple had spent the weekend in Edinburgh celebrating Mary's 58th birthday, when they received a message this morning from easyJet at 8.50am telling them their 12.15pm flight to Belfast had been cancelled.
“We were already on the tram,” Marie said. “I wish we'd known sooner and we could have just stayed where we were.”
The couple have since rebooked with Ryanair, but will not fly home until 5.35pm
“We are stuck here and it's going to be a long day,” Marie said. “It'll be lots of coffee I think.”
The pair joked that their journey had already got off to a difficult start after missing their flight to Edinburgh.
“We actually missed our flight here as well because we were too late,” Marie said. “So we haven't had much luck.”