Brits stranded on Greek island as flash floods spark major travel disruption

Brits have been left stranded abroad after treacherous weather sparked travel chaos - with holidaymakers given no choice but to sleep on the airport floor.

Travellers have faced a crisis at Zakynthos Airport in Greecefollowing two days of disruptive weather including flash floods and torrential rain. Dozens of people who were set to head back to Newcastle International Airport have seen their flights delayed, cancelled or diverted. The Greek airport, which is known as a gateway for party spot Zante, is packed with disgruntled holidaymakers who have been scrambling to find a place to sleep.

Passenger, Amber Tate, 21, from Washington, described the horrendous scenes when she arrived to the airport. Amber and her best friend Bethany Griffiths said people became "pushy and impatient" as they waited for an update about their flight. Speaking about the ordeal, she said: "We got our transfer to the airport at 6.20pm, and were met with huge crowds outside the airport, with many more arriving to drop people off soon after. We stayed within this crowd for three hours as flash floods of rain began to come.

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"We were told nothing throughout the experience, having to speak to people in the crowd about where the toilets were, where we could get water, and if they knew if our flight was cancelled. People who had checked in were told to get their bags once again. My parents booked a hotel at around 9:20pm to ensure we had a place for the night as they assumed we wouldn’t be coming home.

"We waited longer as people got gradually more pushy and impatient during the storm, and at 10:17pm, I received an email stating the flight was cancelled, and we will now be taken to Manchester instead. After managing to get to a hotel, we have both cried endlessly and are terrified of flying now as we have lost all faith in travelling. This experience has not only drained us but depleted our confidence, and left us with some awful memories at the end of an amazing holiday."

Another person who has been impacted, from Newcastle, told Chronicle Live: "We were initially told that the airport was closed and we would be kept updated, but our transfer arrived at the right time so we thought all was well. When we arrived, we saw hundreds of people trying to seek shelter under the canopy outside the airport as it was raining heavily. We were left in the storm after getting off the coach and queued outside the terminal in the horrendous weather for four hours.

"People had young children and were trying to seek what little shelter they could. At around 10.30pm we managed to gain entry in to the airport, but we were told that there would be no more flights. We called every hotel that would answer to find a room, but to no avail, and we could not book any rooms online, so it became obvious that our bed for the night would be the airport floor alongside hundreds of others."

A County Durham traveller, who has asked to remain anonymous, has also shared their story, saying: "People are sleeping on the floor as it has been hard to find transport and accommodation, and we wouldn't be able to come back in if we left the airport." In an update this afternoon, they added: "We are finally flying home, at 5.55am Tuesday, but not to Newcastle, to Manchester instead. We found a hotel at 7am this morning, but had to pay for both that and the taxi, and we have to pay for the taxi back to the airport at 3am tomorrow morning, so we are keeping the receipts."