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Hundreds of passengers, including babies, whose Ryanair flight from Lanzarote was delayed by more than 20 hours, were forced to sleep on concrete floors and conveyor belts at the Spanish island’s airport.

One couple even claim the whole debacle left them “traumatized” after their return trip to Bristol was first delayed and then canceled due to bad weather. And because all local accommodation was booked, travelers had no choice but to spend the night at the airport, without water, food or blankets, while they waited for a plane to take them home, reports Bristol Live.

Sam Johns, 31, and his partner Danielle Downing, 30, flew from Bristol to Lanzarote on Thursday March 9 and were due to return three days later. But due to delays and cancellations, they finally made it home just before 7:00 pm on Monday, March 13 after suffering an agonizing night’s sleep in the process.

Young children and the elderly were among those who had to sleep on concrete floors and conveyor belts, according to the couple.

Sam, a website and marketing manager, said: “I took my partner for a birthday surprise and getting there was no problem. Everything had gone well until we arrived at the Lanzarote airport last Sunday around 3:00 p.m.

“Our flight was supposed to take off at 18:20. While we were waiting, the boards said that all flights were delayed.

“There was a lack of communication from Ryanair staff who said they were waiting for news, but they didn’t tell us why the flight was delayed. At first the flight was delayed an hour and then an advert appeared at the gate, but by the time we arrived it had changed from Bristol to Bournemouth.

“They sent us on a wild goose chase through the airport and it was getting later and later. Around 11:30 pm it was officially confirmed that our fight had been canceled until the next day at 12:30 pm due to bad weather.

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“At midnight our luggage was returned to us and Ryanair promised us accommodation and transfers, but they never arrived. When we got to the airport area we were told to meet up, all the Ryanair staff had disappeared.

“By then, other airlines had already taken passengers out of the airport to take them to the hotels.

“Because we had been abandoned, many of us decided to take matters into our own hands and tried to find accommodation, but everything was full. Instead, hundreds of people were forced to sleep on the concrete floor or on the conveyor belts in the arrivals section.

“We had no water, no blankets or anything, just a €4 voucher that was canceled in certain places. My partner and I sleep on the conveyor belt at night, but as you can imagine we only got an hour between the two of us.”

He said they witnessed things “you should never see,” like babies sleeping on concrete floors and elderly couples in their 70s sleeping in wheelchairs. He continued: “It was horrible.

“I have never experienced anything like this before in my life. It was quite traumatic.

“We are trying to get compensation, but that too is proving to be an absolute nightmare. Since we book through a third party, we have to go through them; it seems they tried to close my case without even contacting me to explain.”

In a statement, a Ryanair spokesperson told The Daily Mail: “A small number of flights to/from Lanzarote (March 12) were delayed overnight due to heavy fog at Lanzarote airport. Affected passengers were notified and subsequently updated via email, SMS and PUSH notification.

“Passengers were offered overnight accommodation, however, as there was limited hotel availability on Lanzarote, some passengers remained at the airport and passengers who arranged their own accommodation were advised that they can claim reimbursement at ryanair.com

“To minimize inconvenience to passengers, Ryanair arranged rescue flights for the following morning (March 13) when the fog lifted. We sincerely apologize to affected passengers for any inconvenience caused as a result of these weather-related delays, which were completely out of our control.”

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