A airline passenger has told of his 'nightmare' hour journey home after runways at Manchester Airport were closed due to snow. Travis Frain was onboard an Emirates flight from Dubai which was due to land in Manchester at 6.45am on Thursday.
But after freezing temperatures and snow led to a shut down at Manchester, the flight circled for around two hours before being diverted to Birmingham, 90 miles away. And that was just the start of the problems.
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When the plane eventually landed passengers faced a two wait for their luggage. Then a coach which had been arranged to transport them back to Manchester broke down about 20 minutes into the journey after pulling into a service station on the M6.
After a 30 minute delay the bus was repaired and got back on the road. An exhausted Travis, a PHD student and lecturer at Edge Hill University, eventually made it home to Darwen in Lancashire at about 3pm - 12 hours after leaving Dubai.
He said: "It was a nightmare. We got near Manchester and they told us there was snow on the runway, so were circling for about two hours, then the pilot came on and said we were being rerouted to Birmingham as basically we were running out of fuel.
"We landed in Birmingham at about 8.50am, then had to wait two hours for our bags. All this time there was no communication from Emirates, no text message or email or anything.
"We eventually found two Emirates guys who said stand here and some coaches will come to take you to Manchester. We got on the coach and there was a problem because the smoke alarm kept going off.
"About 20 minutes outside Birmingham we pulled into a service station because it had broken down. We eventually got back to Manchester about 1.30pm and I jumped straight in a cab and came home."
Travis, 24, described the journey as a 'total shambles'. He said: "I can understand Manchester Airport's predicament.
"The fact it snowed is obviously not their fault, but things like this seem to happen every year, every time it snows. It's so frustrating how every time it snows the whole country just seems to grind to a halt.
"But I'm more disappointed about the way we were treated by Emirates. There as a duty of care that was just missing."
An Emirates spokesperson said: "Emirates flight EK021, which was scheduled to arrive in Manchester at 06.45hrs (local time) on January 19, has been diverted to Birmingham due to the airport's closure for snow removal. The flight has terminated in Birmingham and ground transportation is being provided to assist passengers to return to Manchester.
"As a result, Emirates flight EK022 on 19 January from Manchester to Dubai stands cancelled. Passengers will be re-accommodated onto alternative flights.
"We are closely monitoring the situation and customers are advised to check their flight status on emirates.com for the latest information regarding their flights. Emirates apologises for the inconvenience caused."
Runways at Manchester were closed for about three hours until 9am.
In a statement earlier today the airport said: "Following a period of heavy snow fall, we have temporarily closed both runways. Health and safety will always be our top priority and operations will resume at the earliest opportunity.
"Passengers are advised to contact their airline for the most up-to-date flight information."
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