A WEST Cumbrian man says his stag party was ruined after he was left left stranded in an airport for 17 hours with no access to food or drink.

Gary Barnes, 31 of Workington was due to fly home with EasyJet from Munich on October 8 after he and his stag party celebrated at the popular Oktoberfest.

However, the group were left sleeping on the airport's floor after their flight to Edinburgh, which was scheduled to leave at 9.50pm, did not set off until the next morning.

Gary said: "What felt like a small victory at the time was that the airline was handing out fliers about how to make a claim for compensation. We thought that although the experience had been awful, at least we would be compensated for it."

However, when they tried claiming compensation, EasyJet gave the group different reasons for why they weren't eligible for monetary compensation.

"EasyJet have lied left, right and centre about this. They're trying to wriggle out of responsibility – and all I want is to be compensated.

"At the time, we were told that the delay was due to staff turnaround issues. Then, once home I was told that the delay was due to disruptive passengers on our aircraft having to be disembarked, despite never actually boarding the plane," said Gary.

When trying to dispute this, Gary received the following explanation from the airline: "We're sorry that your flight to Edinburgh was delayed overnight. Our assessment and legal team has carefully reviewed your claim and the circumstances around your flight and have confirmed that your compensation claim is not eligible for compensation payment under EU Regulation EU261/2004.

"Please note that this may not match with the information you were given on the day of travel, as our staff in airports, and on-board, may not have had all the information concerning your delayed flight."

But Gary's friend received a different reason for the delay. The company told the friend there had been a medical emergency on board.

EasyJet's email read: "I can assure you cancelling a flight is always our last resort, as we understand the inconvenience this causes to our passengers. Your flight Munich to Edinburgh was delayed due to a medical emergency on board."

The group were left confused after their 9.50pm departure was delayed four times before passengers were told their flight was rescheduled to 11.25am the following day.

Gary said: "We checked-in and were sat in the lounge when the notice board said our flight was delayed for an hour. Half an hour later, it said we would be delayed for another hour. We sat there until 11pm and then we were called to line up at the gate. Then there was another announcement saying 'bad news, the flight is going to be delayed overnight and would now be leaving in the morning'.

"An EasyJet staff member assured us it definitely wasn't a cancellation, even though when we went to check-in online for the second flight, it had a completely different flight number to our original one.

"The only option we were given was to sleep at the airport or find our own accommodation, which we didn't attempt because we had been told everywhere was fully booked."

Passengers were given food vouchers to spend but there was nowhere open in the airport until 5.30am the following morning, leaving them hungry and thirsty.

"It was really confusing, everyone was angry and upset and it didn't make sense to us why EasyJet thought it was acceptable for us to stay for 17 or so hours stuck in an airport.

"We tried to sleep on the floor and on benches but it was so uncomfortable and impossible to sleep. We weren't given the option to leave the terminal," added Gary.

By this point, the party had missed their organised and paid for bus home from Edinburgh.

The following day, the group's 11.25am flight was delayed for a further hour.

Gary is determined not to give up and has instructed legal representation from law firm Bott and Co, who believe each passenger is entitled to 250 Euros in compensation.

Coby Benson, flight delay solicitor at Bott and Co, said: "It is deplorable that an airline should leave their customers without access to any food, drink or even a place to sleep all night. We will be working hard to ensure that these passengers obtain any compensation that they are rightly entitled to."

A spokesman for EasyJet said: "We are sorry that Mr Barnes’ flight was cancelled because of two disruptive passengers and a medical incident onboard which meant that the crew exceeded their legally permitted flying hours.

“The safety and wellbeing of its passengers and crew is EasyJet's highest priority. Passengers were provided the option of transferring their flight free of charge or obtaining a refund.

“We will always pay any reasonable expenses incurred during times of disruption including hotels and meals. We have been in touch with Mr Barnes to process his expenses.

“EasyJet takes its responsibilities under EU261 very seriously and will always pay compensation when it is due. As the reason for the delay was outside of EasyJet’s control Mr Barnes is not entitled to EU261 compensation."