It may be fabled as one of the most beautiful cities in the world - but a disabled mum and her family were left wandering the streets of Paris in sub-zero temperatures without food or money for three days after their easyJet flight home was cancelled.
Carol Vanbeck and her husband Ian, both aged 50, and their 17-year-old son Joel went to the city of lights for a week on December 5 and were due to return home on December 12.
But when weather conditions meant their flight from Charles de Gaulle airport back to their home in Edinburgh could not go ahead, the family claim they were "abandoned" by the low cost carrier with no food or drink after running out of cash.
Carol, from Markinch, Fife, also said they were ordered to check out of their hotel each morning, before rebooking a room through easyJet for later in the day, leaving them out in the cold for hours on end.
Former nurse Carol who is medically retired because of mobility problems caused by a tumour she had removed from her back, said: "It was a nightmare. We had no money, no food or drink and it was minus 5C outside.
"When we told easyJet they just said we should phone up friends and family to get money, but we can’t do that. Most people don’t have a lot of extra money lying about just now."
She added: "At one point I developed a chest infection and I just broke down at the hotel desk. So they eventually let us sit in the reception foyer.
She explained that the family "didn't see one easyjet staff member from the moment we were told our flight was cancelled".
An easyJet spokesperson said: "“Unfortunately the Vanbeck family’s flight from Paris to Edinburgh on Monday December 12 was unable to operate due to adverse weather conditions impacting airlines operating to and from the UK.
“The safety and well-being of our customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and we did all possible to minimise the impact of the weather disruption for customers, offering hotel accommodation and rebooking options.
"We know options were unfortunately limited on some routes at this time due to weather disruption impacting all airlines and while this was outside of our control, we understand the difficulty this will have caused for which we are very sorry.
“We always want to ensure our customers feel supported, so we are in touch with the family to ensure their well-being and understand more about their experience at the airport and their hotel so we can look into this with the airport, our ground handling provider at Paris Charles de Gaulle and our hotel provider, as this is not the level of support we expect for our customers.
"In addition to reimbursing them for any expenses they have incurred as a result of the cancellation, we are also offering a gesture of goodwill for their experience.”
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