British holidaymakers in Morocco have been left stranded after the nation banned air travel to and from the UK - with desperate workers finding alternative routes to get back for work.
Officials in Morocco announced on Thursday that flights to and from the UK would be halted because of soaring infection rates.
Latest data revealed that the UK's infection rate stands at 445.5 per 100,000 people, compared with Morocco's 10.4 per 100,000.
Air travel between the Netherlands and Germany has also been banned by the Moroccan authorities.
Chaos has been unfurling at the airports as people arrive for their flights only to be turned away and told they must find an alternative route home.
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Some have claimed easyJet and Ryanair did not tell them the flights were cancelled until they arrived to check in.
Chloe Cervone, 24, and her partner Lucy Ross, 29, said they may need to pay extra to extend their holiday, adding their reps "don't seem very confident" in when they will be able to get back.
Chloe, from Whitby, told Teeside Live : "We were supposed to fly out last night, but the flight was cancelled. We have been told it is going to be rescheduled for tonight, but there is still so much uncertainty."
However their travel saga means they are having to sit tight inside the Hotel Riu Palace Tikida Taghazout.
Located near sandy beaches, the all-inclusive is described on TripAdvisor as having the "highest standards in terms of luxury, excellence and sophistication", with five bars, a steakhouse and even a patisserie.
While Chloe admits it is "gorgeous", they are still trying to find out when their flight to Manchester will eventually happen.
"We have spoken to our reps this morning, but they have told us they don't know what is happening," she added.
"They will update us at 6PM tonight to let us know if we can go home or not, but it seems very unlikely."
Daryl Lamb, 38, and his stepdad Mal Cleveland, 55, told The Sun they have have paid an extra £500 to get back to Manchester from Marrakech.
Their original return flights with easyJet for a five-day break cost £272 - but now they will have to make a 13 hour journey to Casablanca and onto Barcelona before finally landing at Manchester Airport.
Children's home worker Daryl told The Sun: "It's absolute chaos at the airport. None of the staff know what's going on and the check in desks are either empty or won't talk to us.
"People have been properly kicking off at the airport, everyone is furious. We spoke to people who don't have any money to re-book flights so they don't know what they will do.
"I'm going to miss a day at work because of the flight ban. The journey means we have to change planes twice and we won't get back to Manchester Airport until 2am on Monday.
"It was only supposed to be a five day break, but the nightmare coming home has ruined it completely."
Chloe Boulos, 30, from Essex, says she and her partner were due to fly home Thursday, but they were told by their airline the flight had been cancelled only a few hours before it was scheduled to depart.
She said they were awaiting an update and hoped to fly on Friday.
"It has definitely ruined the last day as we've just spent all day checking for an update," she said.
"It is more frustrating than anything as all day we have been in limbo not knowing if we would be leaving or not."
Another man travelling from the UK said the ban on flights came as "a bit of a shock".
Will Malpass, 31, who lives in Clapham, south London, said that he and his partner have been left in a "frustrating" situation after arriving in Morocco on Sunday, and are having to travel through Europe to get home.
He said that they will now have to travel through France to get home.
"As it stands, we're going through France and then (getting the) Eurostar back," he said.
Mr Malpass said he is not scheduled to fly home until Monday but was notified that his flight had been cancelled when the ban was announced.
"It did come as a surprise - it doesn't feel like (the ban) actually solves anything because we're just finding a way through another country to get back," Mr Malpass said.
Morocco's National Office of Airports said the policy will remain in place "until further notice".
A RyanAir spokesman said: “Ryanair fully complies with Govt travel restrictions.
"Following the Moroccan Govt’s decision to impose a travel ban on flights from the UK, Germany and Netherlands without prior notice, Ryanair has been forced to process several cancellations.
"Customers have been notified by email/text message and informed of their options including a free move, flight voucher or refund."
EasyJet said: “We have worked with the authorities to get this urgently resolved and have now confirmed we can operate all scheduled flights over the coming days.
"Any affected customers have been able to transfer their flights free of charge. “While this was outside of our control, we are very sorry for the inconvenience customers will have experienced and thank them for their patience and understanding.”
