A FAMILY from Bury saw their first holiday together aborted due to a strike by French air traffic controllers.

Charlene Moffat and partner James Pollard were due to take their two sons to Alicante last Wednesday (April 8), but instead endured an agonising eight-hour wait at Manchester Airport before discovering their flight had been cancelled.

Having received only a £3 food voucher as an apology for the delay, the family had to check online themselves to discover the cancellation, with easyJet stewards claiming that no announcement was made at the airport due to a faulty tannoy system.

Miss Moffat, a 29-year-old personal trainer, said: “We were so upset, the kids were absolutely devastated.

“We tried to book flights for the next day but there were none available.

“You would think they would prioritise the people who have lost their flights, but they just try to make as much money as they can for themselves instead of actually caring about their customers.”

It had taken six months for the couple to save enough money to take six-year-old Harvey and six-month-old Theo on their first family holiday, during which time Miss Moffat had been made redundant.

Generous relatives have since paid for a replacement trip to Tenerife, but the family, of Radcliffe Road, have so far been unable to get a refund on the £1,200 holiday they missed out on.

She added: “There must be thousands more people in the same situation as we are.

“We are very fortunate that our family have pulled together for us, but I don't know if we will get that £1,200 back.”

An easyJet spokesperson commented: “easyJet is disappointed at this unnecessary strike action which caused considerable and disproportionate disruption for passengers and airlines across Europe.

“easyJet did everything possible to limit the inconvenience of this strike for passengers. We advised all affected passengers of any flight changes via e-mail and SMS and also provided live disruption videos via YouTube and Periscope.

“easyJet cancelled flights only as a last resort and offered a free of charge transfer to another flight or a refund if passengers preferred not to take a flight transfer. easyJet also provided hotel accommodation for passengers who required it.

“Although this was outside of our control, easyJet would like to apologise to its customers for any inconvenience caused.”