A QUEENSFERRY man's week went from bad to worse after getting caught up in cancellation chaos at Manchester Airport.

Dad-of-two Graeme Forster told the Leader he lost his job in the security industry last week and decided to spend a few days away with his wife, Sarah, in Lanzarote.

However, things did not go to plan as power issues led to almost 70 flights to and from Manchester on Sunday being cancelled.

Mr Forster said: "It's an absolute nightmare.

"Myself and my wife booked to go to Lanzarote for a few days. I got made redundant last week and we decided to go away for a few days to clear our heads and something to look forward to.

"We arrived at Manchester Airport yesterday, first time flying with Jet2 and everything went perfectly. There were no hold ups, even getting on the plane but then we sat there waiting and waiting. The pilot said there had been a power cut and they wouldn't be able to refuel.

"We were supposed to fly at 3.45pm and at 6pm we were still sat on the plane. We were then told it wouldn't be up and running so we had to get off."

Holiday goers were finally able to leave the airport shortly after 10pm on Sunday night, almost seven hours late, but 15 minutes before they were supposed to land they were told Lanzarote Airport was closed and the plane would be diverting to Gran Canaria.

Speaking to the Leader whilst in Gran Canaria, waiting to finally get to their final destination, Mr Forster added: "We had plans in Lanzarote that we can't do at the moment. It's just been an absolute nightmare

"We were supposed to be there for four days but all being well now, we will only get two days there.

"We have to check out of the hotel at 12pm and we aren't getting picked up until 4pm so we have to drag our luggage around for four hours.

"It's been awful. We even said we would get the ferry to Lanzarote but there's noone around to talk to, it's all a bit mad."

An airport spokesman said there were a total of 69 cancellations.

Thirty-seven of the cancelled flights were arrivals and 32 were departures.

A statement from the airport said that "most scheduled flights" would operate as normal on Monday, but "there will be a small number of delays and cancellations as a result of the issues experienced."

Passengers are advised to check the status of their flight with their airline.