'We just want to get home' - dozens stranded in Tunisia after cancelled Belfast flight

Dozens of people from Northern Ireland have been left stranded in Tunisia after their EasyJet flight back to Belfast was cancelled and the airline told them it had no other flights available for another 10 days.

A number of people have scrambled for alternative journeys back to Northern Ireland, with one man saying he has spent more than £4,000 to get his family of five home.

Some told BBC News NI of passengers running out of medication in the days since the cancellation on Saturday, while others criticised EasyJet over a lack of support and communication.

EasyJet has said it is operating an additional direct flight to Belfast on Tuesday night,and that it was "very sorry" for the inconvenience.

BBC News NI understands more than 100 people were booked onto the cancelled flight that was due to leave Enfidha-Hamamet Airport three days ago.

Stuart McCartney, from Dromore, County Down, said he had spent thousands on accommodation and flights to get his family home via a flight to Brussels.

"I'm willing to pay £4,000 to get us home, if needs be, and then battle for reimbursement if I have to after that," he said.

"But we shouldn't have to pay. My holiday was a fraction of what I'm paying to get home right now."

McCartney said EasyJet provided two nights of accommodation but then told the family to find alternative accommodation for the rest of the delay.

He said his mother Katherine, who accompanied his wife and children on the trip, relies on heart medication and they have had to keep a close eye on her remaining supply as the delay continued.

An EasyJet spokesperson said they were "very sorry" that the flight had been cancelled and that the company "have been doing everything we can to support Mr McCartney, providing hotel accommodation and meals and we will be reimbursing expenses that may have been incurred".

Another woman, Martine Murray, said she had run out of an inhaler to treat her COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) and is anxious to get home to her mother, who is seriously ill.

Chloe McGinty, a student from County Donegal, said it had been "an absolute nightmare".

McCartney said passengers had completed the normal departure process on Saturday night, collecting their boarding passes and gathering at the gate before the flight was called off after more than two hours of delays.

He said the pilot told passengers the aircraft had a number of technical problems, including an issue affecting its steering.

"They would not let that plane fly because it was too unsafe," he said.

"It was just a snowball of issues."

He said "tired and anxious" passengers were eventually taken through the airport in the early hours of Sunday morning and transported by bus to separate hotels.

McCartney added they were given little information about what would happen if they needed to return home before the rescheduled flight.

"People were left to work out their own arrangements."

When he returned to the airport on Sunday, McCartney said an EasyJet agent was only able to look at the airline's own options and could not find a route that would get his family home sooner.

With his children due to return to school and the adults expected back at work, he looked for an alternative. The family are now booked on flights from Tunisia to Brussels, followed by a seven-hour layover before travelling on to Dublin on Wednesday.

He said the uncertainty had taken an emotional toll on his family, particularly his children.

His son had been due to return to school and rugby training and became extremely upset when he realised they would not be returning home as planned.

"When we told him he wasn't getting home, he broke down badly," he said.

The family finally securing an alternative route home brought some relief.

"It really helped him. It's the first time he's smiled in like three days," he said.

McCartney said fellow passengers had supported one another throughout the disruption, helping with transport, translation and finding alternative routes home.

"The camaraderie with people is unbelievable," he added.

"We all are trying so hard for each other."

Martine Murray from Belfast, is travelling in Tunisia with a friend and said she is desperate to return home because her mother is seriously ill.

She said she has had to borrow money from friends and family to pay for alternative accommodation after leaving a hotel arranged by EasyJet, which she described as dirty.

"I don't have that money, but I'll have to pay it back," she said.

Murray also has COPD and has run out of her inhaler.

She said she had received an email informing her that her flight had been cancelled, but had been unable to get further information from the airline despite trying to contact it.

"Get us home, we need to get home now," she said.

"I would never travel with them (EasyJet) again."

Chloe McGinty and her mum Sinead are among other passengers affected.

McGinty, a pharmacy student at Queen's University Belfast, said her mum, who has sciatica, had been in a lot of pain while they waited for several hours following delays at the airport.

"She had to lie on the floor because we had been standing for so long," she said.

The pair have since booked flights to Brussels and then Dublin, before making their way home.

Chloe said finding an alternative route had been difficult because of the limited number of flights between Tunisia and Belfast.

"There's only two flights to Belfast out of this country every week," she said.

"It's been so stressful," she said.

She also said the financial impact of the disruption would be difficult for some passengers, who "have spent their entire holiday budget and didn't expect to stay her for another entire week".

Natasha Dovbijenko, who is travelling with her husband and child, said the hotel provided by EasyJet was very dirty, with bathrooms that did not work.

Dovbijenko added there was then "a lot of back and forth" over their travel arrangements, including an attempt to separate her from her husband, before they eventually secured a flight to Liverpool.

From there, they had to arrange their own travel back to Ireland.

"There's been no contact from EasyJet, just a message that night saying sorry to hear your flight was cancelled," she said.

"They've treated us very bad. No contact. EasyJet have basically just left us."

EasyJet said the flight to Belfast on 23 August "experienced a technical issue and was unable to operate".

A spokesperson added: "As alternative flight options including with other carriers are very limited at this busy time of year, we will be operating an additional direct flight from Enfidha to Belfast this evening and providing onward transfers home where needed to get Mr McCartney and our customers home safely."

The airline said it would be contacting customers directly with the information on the flight.

"The welfare of our customers is our highest priority and we are very sorry for the inconvenience caused."