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Passengers' despair after 35-hour flight delay

Lisa Levy Glasgow AirportLisa Levy
Passengers were left in limbo at Glasgow Airport

Passengers stranded at Glasgow Airport for more than 35 hours have spoken of their frustration at waiting to board a flight to Iceland.

About 170 people destined for Reykjavik were in limbo after a "technical issue" was found on the aircraft when it arrived in Scotland.

The Icelandair plane was grounded at the airport since the 14:00 flight on Thursday failed to take off.

The flight eventually left at 01:05 on Saturday.

Icelandair and Menzies Aviation have been contacted for comment.

Travellers said they were "exhausted" by the "horrible experience".

'Frustrating and draining'

Evan Cannell said he had been unable to leave the airport with his girlfriend, despite living about a 20-minute drive away.

He told BBC Scotland: "It's been frustrating and draining to say the least.

"It's been a long couple of days.

"They won't provide a refund of the current ticket because the flight today hasn't actually been cancelled, and we were automatically pushed on to this flight yesterday."

The couple were put up in an hotel overnight but only had about six hours away from the airport's departure area as they were told they needed to be back at the gate by 05:00 for a morning flight.

Over the two days, each passenger has been given three £10 food vouchers from the Menzies Aviation team, who are manging the situation on behalf of Icelandair.

Mr Cannell and his girlfriend are heading to Reykjavik for a two-hour stopover on the way to New York and Nashville but are now unsure how their holiday will be affected by the delay.

Lisa Levy Lisa Levy and her husband Daniel with their daughters Emily and EricaLisa Levy
Lisa Levy and her husband David travelled to Scotland with their daughters Emily and Erica to walk the Hebridean Way

US holidaymakers Lisa and David Levy, from Florida, are flying to Iceland for what was supposed to be an eight-day holiday.

They had travelled to Scotland to walk the 156-mile Hebridean Way with their adult daughters.

"It's horrible the way we're treated," Mrs Levy said. "They keep telling us another hour. They're just lying to us and we're exhausted.

"We're stranded here and we're not going anywhere - I have never been treated like this as an American citizen."

She added: "I will not travel through Glasgow again."