A family were stranded at an Italian airport after a 12-hour flight delay and claimed they had "no choice of food."
Hollie Sheldon was travelling back from Turin back to Manchester Airport on Boxing Day following a skiing trip with her husband and four children.
However the family's flight home was held up for several hours due to "technical issues", causing delays for hundreds of passengers, reports Manchester Evening News.
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Hollie said their flight from Turin Airport was scheduled to leave at 11.50am on December 26, but it didn't leave until after midnight - 12 hours later.
She claimed that although their holiday provider TUI provided passengers with food vouchers, the lack of choice meant she had to fork out around £70 of her own money.
The mum-of-four complained she had to spend £20 alone on sushi for her son who is Celiac - as there was not one gluten free item of food available to buy.
Hollie, from Shropshire, said: "We arrived at the airport and checked in fine. Before we went through security we got a quick McDonald's.
"As we were eating, we got an email that said our flight was going to be delayed and we were going to get a food voucher.
"We went through security and then it was just delay after delay. We were given updates via email and text rather than from anyone in person."
Hollie said the first food voucher they received was for £10 per person, but it could only be spent at one restaurant.
She added: "There really wasn't a lot of choice there.
"Then we got another £6 voucher. I asked if there were any alternative provisions because my son is celiac, but there was nothing gluten free.
"A lot of other people were saying they were really restricted on what they could buy."
The mum said that after the flight was delayed again, they were sent a £15 voucher to spend on food and drink.
Hollie said: "We had to wait 20 minutes in a queue each time and once you got to the front the food had pretty much ran out.
Hollie claims the journey became even more stressful when she realised last minute that all the seats had been changed and her family had been split up.
Her children are aged two, eight, six and 15 and had to sit separately from each other.
The mum said: "We got on the plane and by the time we took off it was nearly 12 hours.
"All they had on board was drinks and a few snacks. I explained that there had been no provisions for my son who was gluten free but there was nothing on board the plane.
"I had one burger from McDonald’s and a croissant all day. We had to spend £20 on sushi for my son because that's all he could eat."
Hollie described the whole experience as a "complete nightmare."
She said: "The holiday itself was great but getting there and getting back has been a complete shambles.
"I must have spent at least £60 or £70 on food at that airport. We want to know how are getting compensated."
A spokesperson for TUI said: "We’re sorry to hear of Ms Sheldon’s experience in Turin following her delayed flight to Manchester yesterday.
"Our teams worked extremely hard to offer assistance to all customers throughout the delay and provided them with refreshment vouchers.
"Unfortunately, the choice of food options available in the airport is beyond our control.
"As an alternative aircraft had to be sourced due to the delay, we were only able to provide snacks onboard for customers.
"We know delays are a frustrating experience for customers, and we would once again like to apologise to Ms Sheldon and thank her for her patience and understanding."
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