Another EasyJet customer has spoken out after having a flight from Belfast to Amsterdam cancelled while she was already on the plane.
This comes after Belfast Live reported how a Northern Ireland dad was left "gutted" when the same thing happened to him and his family on a different date - but on the same Belfast to Amsterdam route.
EasyJet, meanwhile, has pointed to challenging conditions for air traffic this summer with increased capacity flying in airspace constrained by the war in Ukraine.
Read more: NI dad 'gutted' as flight cancelled while already on the plane
Belfast Live first reported how Carrickfergus dad Alan Kennedy, 55, said he and his family were forced to get off the plane after listening to safety demonstrations onboard when his flight to Schipol Airport in the Netherlands was cancelled at the last minute.
Now, 43-year-old mother Janet Boylan from Lisburn said she and her family were also forced to get off the plane when a different evening flight to Schipol - on June 19 on this occasion - was also cancelled at the last minute.
Belfast Live has also been contacted by other people who say they also encountered problems with EasyJet flights from Belfast International to Amsterdam.
Janet, meanwhile, said: "Our flight - for me, my husband, our three kids, and my mum - was all booked for Schipol to go to Amsterdam for a couple of nights and then on to a Eurocamp, which was also all booked.
"Our flight was on the 19th of June and it was an evening flight. It was a Monday. It was delayed, it was delayed more, and we eventually got herded onto the flight after waiting around.
"Everyone was belted in, announcements were made and all of that. It took quite a while to load everything onto the plane. After all the normal announcements, we waited a wee while longer and then one of the stewardesses announced that the flight was cancelled.
"I thought she was joking, but she wasn't. The reason they gave at the time was that there is a curfew at Schipol airport."
She said the experience was quite traumatic: "There were a bunch of guys in the back of the plane and because it had been delayed they were sitting drinking, and weren't best pleased that this was getting cancelled. They were shouting in the back, and swearing.
"But they wouldn't let everybody off the flight. I was kind of scared, sitting there with a five-year-old child and all these boys kicking off. The police were called onto the flight to sort it all out, but they still wouldn't let us off.
"Now, obviously that was pretty traumatic. When we got off there was nobody manning the helpdesk to sort anything out, to get anyone an offer of another flight, or anything. It was whatever the desk was that we were directed to go to, there was just nobody there.
"It was ridiculous. In the end we just had to drive back home. The worst part of it was that we had two nights' hotel booked in Amsterdam, car hire booked, and 10 or 11 nights of a Eurocamp booked.
"By the time we added all that up I think it was about four or five grand. We got back on to EasyJet but the next flight out was all booked."
She added: "I think there's clearly a pattern to this and I've no idea what they're doing. When I saw your article I thought 'this isn't just once, it's happened before'. It's clearly not the first time it's happened either. The communication has been terrible, really terrible."
EasyJet say they take the welfare of customers seriously, and insist customers are directly notified of their options if a flight is unable to operate - which includes a free transfer to an alternative flight or a refund.
The airline said their online management tool enables customers to request the refund or rebook quickly for an alternative flight, including flights with other airlines.
Customers relying on hotels or meals due to the cancellation of flights are also booked by EasyJet or reimbursed if customers incur any of their own expenses, the airline also said.
The company said European air traffic authority Eurocontrol has noted that the industry is seeing challenging conditions due to more capacity flying in a more constrained airspace due to the Ukraine war, resulting in high levels of air traffic control delays. The knock-on impacts of these delays, EasyJet say, can affect airports with night curfews.
Referring specifically to Mr Kennedy's concerns, a spokesperson for EasyJet said: "Mr Kennedy’s flight from Belfast to Amsterdam was unfortunately cancelled following earlier delays to the aircraft due to operate the flight, which meant the flight was unable to arrive at Amsterdam within the airport’s night curfew and we are very sorry for the disappointment this will have caused Mr Kennedy and his family."
The company spokesperson added: “We did all possible to mitigate the impact for customers, providing them with options to transfer to an alternative flight for free or a refund as well as hotel accommodation and meals for those who required them.
"For customers on an easyJet holiday like Mr Kennedy, we will always endeavour to find an alternative holiday and where this isn’t possible we will offer a full refund, so we have refunded Mr Kennedy in full for his holiday and have provided him with the compensation he is due.”
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