FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS:ALMOST 2,000 passengers due to travel in and out of Cork airport yesterday were left grounded as air traffic control work stoppages caused havoc to travel plans.
Irate passengers faced a total of 16 cancelled flights to and from Cork airport yesterday with eight scheduled arrivals and eight scheduled departures.
Aer Lingus cancelled eight of its scheduled departures and Ryanair grounded a further six, while Aer Arann cancelled its service to and from Dublin.
Families due to travel to Disneyland Paris and football fans travelling to Liverpool for a fixture at Anfield were affected, while hundreds of business and leisure travellers were left frustrated.
Cancelled flights in and out of Cork included services to Dublin, Paris, London, Liverpool and Manchester.
Passenger Jane Fleming arrived at Cork airport with her partner and three children after travelling from Tipperary, to find the family’s planned holiday to Disneyland in doubt as a result of a cancelled Aer Lingus flight to Paris. The family spent €1,800 on flights and accommodation for the three-day break but feared they would not get to travel until today.
Marketing manager at Cork airport, Kevin Cullinane, said the airport was ‘‘eerily quiet’’ yesterday as most passengers were made aware of the cancellations by the airlines involved through text and e-mail services.
“I don’t think I have ever seen it so quiet, most people have been following news reports and web updates with regard to cancellations,” he said.
Cork Airport Authority was awaiting confirmation of a resumption of air traffic control services yesterday.
"Like our colleagues in airports around the country we are waiting for the news that normal services will resume, we are awaiting confirmation from the Irish Aviation Authority. We are keeping our website ( www.corkairport.com) fully up to date," he said.