Passengers were left stranded at Inverness Airport by the 24-hour strike over pay by air traffic controllers.
Flights to and from six six north terminals – Inverness, Benbecula, Stornoway, Dundee, Sumburgh and Kirkwall – were grounded yesterday, affecting more than 6,000 passengers across the north.
Caroline Tompkinson, 58, was due to fly home to Bristol with her 38-year-old autistic daughter Catherine following a 12-day break visiting relatives.
However, when she arrived at the airport, she was shocked to discover her flight had been cancelled.
She said: It’s unbelievable, I can’t believe it. This is a total shock.
“I can understand that people have to have these discussions if they are not receiving the wages they are looking for but it has a knock on effect.
“At the end of the day it’s the likes of us that suffer the most. They are not the ones standing in a car park trying to pull it together without falling apart.
“I’m disgusted, the airline hasn’t informed us and somehow I have to get us home. This is not a great way to end a holiday.”
Fellow passengers Joe Ollerhead, 25, and Paul Rogers, 53 – who had been climbing in the Isle of Skye – were also left stranded with no choice but to hire a car and drive more than 500 miles south.
Mr Ollerhead said: “It’s disgusting, now let’s go home”.
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An EasyJet spokeswoman said: “We are sorry that some passengers did not see these communications and travelled to the airport and we working hard to contact these passengers to provide alternative travel arrangements.”
A dozen flights were cancelled by the airline as a result of the strikes.
In a statement released by Prospect negotiator David Avery, he said members “did not want to have to take action” but felt they had no choice after failing to reach an agreement over staff wage increases.
He said: “We did not want to have to take this action today, but our members have lost patience with the lack of engagement from HIAL and Scottish Ministers.
“We are pleased with the strong response from our members which was exactly what we expected given the overwhelming response to the strike ballot.”
Meanwhile, Managing director of Highlands and Islands Airport Limited (HIAL) Inglis Lyon said: “I’m extremely disappointed that this dispute has escalated to the strike action today. It is a huge regret and I want to apologise for the inconvenience that this has caused our customers. Over 6,000 customers across the Highlands and Islands have been hugely inconvenienced.
“I would urge Prospect to moderate their claim and sit with us to have open, honest and constructive discussions to allow us to jointly resolve this dispute.”