Passengers forced to sleep on beds in airport

Passengers have been forced to sleep on makeshift beds in airports, with many complaining about the cold and unhygienic conditions.

Airports have laid out beds for stranded passengers after the air traffic boss refused to reveal the cause of the glitch that caused travel chaos.

Thousands of holidaymakers were hit by massive delays after a “technical issue” grounded flights heading to and from the UK on Monday, The Sun reports.

And despite the issue being said to have been fixed on Monday afternoon, knock-on disruption continues to massively affect tourists.

Matthew Creed showed the bed he slept in overnight at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. Picture: PA/AAP

The boss of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) confirmed that passengers can expect to be provided with food and drink as well as accommodation if delayed overnight.

But scores of people reported having to spend the night sleeping on the floor in terminals, with many more complaining about the lack of a proper meal.

Other travellers have said they feel abandoned, with some sleeping on cold airport floors surrounded by cockroaches.

Passengers were stranded overnight in many airports. Picture: PA/AAP

And many furious holidaymakers face mounting costs to cover food and hotel rooms with no idea who is footing the bill.

Passenger Matthew Creed, 26, became stuck at Schiphol Amsterdam Airport yesterday after his flight with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Edinburgh was cancelled.

Matthew spent the night sleeping on a folding bed in the airport but later found out that this was all for nothing as KLM had booked him a hotel. He claims he was not informed of this change, describing his unsettled night’s sleep as “not ideal”.

Matthew said: “They were helping people for a long amount of time, there were long queues, and there were only four or five agents trying to help people.

The 26-year-old drama student had to bunk down in the airport after his flight with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Edinburgh was cancelled. Picture: PA/AAP

“Then they just kind of said we’re closing all of their desks and everybody needs to find their own accommodation or find out their own way to sort things out.

“We heard that there was a gate at the end of the airport where they were putting out pillows and blankets and things, so that’s where we had to sleep last night … which wasn’t ideal.”

At least 281 flights – including departures and arrivals – were cancelled yesterday at the UK’s six busiest airports.

Brits caught in plane delays chaos face being stuck for two weeks amid the travel misery.

About 200,000 irate travellers were told their first available flights home could be at the end of next week.

Others at Palma Airport slept on the floor overnight. Picture: Mega Agency

It comes as NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe said he was “not going to rush” into saying what the cause of the failure was.

The air traffic control boss said he cannot reveal the cause of the glitch that caused travel misery, reports Sky News.

The hiccup left air traffic controllers no choice but to manually input flight plans, sparking hours-long delays.

Passengers facing massive queues at Manchester Airport this morning. Picture: Mega Agency]

Mr Rolfe told the channel: “You will understand we have very complex systems, handling something in the region of two million flights a year and the safety of those passengers is incredibly important to us.

“We are not going to rush into saying what the cause is until we absolutely fully understand.”

Reports have suggested the chaos may have been caused after a French airline misfiled its flight plan.

200,000 travellers were told their first available flights home could be at the end of next week, with huge queues at Gatwick Airport. Picture: Carl Court/Getty Images

People wait near check-in desks at Gatwick Airport on August 28. Picture: Carl Court/Getty Images

Without confirming these claims, Mr Rolfe said: “It could be a single flight plan … if it is a flight plan that has caused this, we know it is something in the flight data and we will get to the bottom of it and understand why.”

The air boss recently doubled his wages and his total pay has hit £1.3million ($A2.5 million).

It was the worst single day’s disruption to UK flying since the Icelandic volcano in 2010.

One traveller, Chanel Acheampong spoke of how she and her eight family members were still stuck in Gran Canaria.

She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “All we’re told is to speak to the information desk and they say it’s nothing to do with them.

“We ask where easyJet is and we’re told they’re never down here, and it’s ground workers who have to book passengers in.

“My niece is type 1 diabetic, she has an insulin pump and she’s literally got minimal insulin left.

“We told easyJet this on the phone, who told us to go to a shop and buy some – you can’t buy insulin over the counter. We need to get home, she needs her medication.”

Passengers due to fly to Newcastle were seen bunking down on the floor of Palma airport overnight, with their flight already facing huge delays following severe weather problems.

Some holidaymakers were even sleeping in trolleys, with one passenger even using a towel to make a tent-like canopy between barriers

And one couple fear their dream Italian wedding could be off the cards after the flight chaos.

Frustrated tourists also took to social media to plead with airlines for help after being left in limbo.

This story originally appeared on The Sun and is republished here with permission