UK Nats outage LIVE as Belfast City Airport flights cancelled and disruption at Belfast International

Josie Donoghue had to get off her flight to Ireland after spending three hours on the runway, and said that getting through Gatwick airport was like “trying to get out of Alcatraz”.

The healthcare worker boarded the Ryanair plane to Shannon at around 3pm and said that “everything seemed fine” until passengers were informed the flight would be delayed due to an issue with air traffic control.

Ms Donoghue said the delay then went “on and on”, adding: “And then I thought, OK they’re not giving us any clear information. It was like they keep saying they’re troubleshooting, they’re doing this, they’re doing that, they’re doing the other.

“Clearly, they didn’t want to tell us what was happening, so I had enough, and I decided at 6 o’clock I’m getting off this plane. I told them I want to get off.”

She said the staff were “exceptional” and helped passengers exit the plane.

Ms Donoghue added: “Getting through that airport was like trying to get out of Alcatraz. We were trapped in there. We were told we couldn’t get out until the flights were cancelled, and then eventually they allowed us to get out.“

She added: “It’s just an absolute nightmare down there, it’s the only word I can use to describe it.” Ms Donoghue is hoping to rebook a flight to Ireland for Wednesday.