Hundreds of passengers had to sleep on a terminal floor after a private jet caused Geneva Airport to close for several hours and cancel all flights.
Dozens of flights from the Swiss airport were grounded on Wednesday night due to the business jet running off the paved runway and becoming stuck in a grass area.
Will Potter was among the hundreds of passengers who had their flight cancelled – and faced the prospect of sleeping overnight on a mattress.
He had to wait in the terminal for more than six hours before easyJet told him his flight back to Gatwick had been cancelled.
By that time other airlines had taken all the rooms at nearby hotels, and he was told the only alternative was an orange mattress on the terminal floor.
Will Potter was among the hundreds of passengers who had their flight cancelled – and faced the prospect of sleeping overnight on a mattress
Dozens of flights from the Swiss airport were grounded on Wednesday night due to the business jet running off the paved runway and becoming stuck in a grass area
Will, 33, said: ‘I was with six other friends, and we just could not face sleeping on the floor. We paid for a taxi to take us back across the border to France where we found a hotel.
‘By the time we got to bed we had to be up at 6am to get back to the airport but even then, the flight was delayed a couple of hours.’
Geneva Airport had made an announcement to passengers that an ‘operational issue’ had closed the runway.
They said a business jet had exited the paved area and ended up in the grass with the fire brigade sent to deal with the situation.
An airport source said heavy rain had made the grass area very muddy and the jet’s wheels became stuck.
The runway was closed for almost four hours.
Will, from London, said: ‘We knew something fairly major had happened as all you could see were blue flashing lights.’
A video was taken by a passenger of the incident. Emergency services attended the scene after the business jet running off the paved runway
The fund raiser had been with friends attending a wedding in the ski resort of Chamonix and had been due to catch a 7.10pm easyJet flight back to Gatwick.
When departure boards in the terminal showed every flight delayed or cancelled Will and his friends were told to wait in the departure lounge by easyJet staff.
He said: ‘It became obvious that no flights were going, and people were being offered accommodation and food vouchers.
‘We just sat there. About midnight we were told the flight was cancelled and all the hotel rooms by the airport had been filled.
‘We could not believe it. Others had been given hotels, and then we were told we could sleep at the airport. After that the easyJet staff just went home.’
The group paid €100 for a taxi to a hotel across the border into France where they all shared rooms.
‘We only had about three hours sleep as we were told to be back at the airport by 6am for an 8am departure. That was delayed and we sat on the plane for an hour.’
The flight eventually took off 13 hours after its scheduled departure.
Passengers are unlikely to be able to claim compensation under EU rules as the delay was not attributable to the airline.
A spokesman for the airline has been contacted for comment.