A partially-sighted man was forced to wait for help on a broken down plane for 40 minutes - while other passengers boarded a new flight.
Chris, 29, was boarding his Good Friday flight from Manchester Airport to Belfast but the easyJet plane had been unable to take off due to a technical fault.
The 11.55am service forced passengers to wait nearly three hours before a new flight was prepared to take off at 2.45pm, ManchesterEveningNews reported.
However, whilst other passengers could transfer to their new flight, Chris had to wait for assistance staff at Manchester Airport - and was left stranded on the original plane until 3.30pm.
He said: "My seat was towards the back, but by that point the rear stairs had been taken away, so I had to walk past everybody which was really embarrassing.
"The crew were saying it wasn't my fault, but I could feel people looking at me, and as soon as I touched the seat we were moving off.
"I get that there are staffing issues, be we knew there was going to be another plane for probably an hour and a half before this happened.
"How could they not find someone to walk two minutes from one aircraft to the other in that time? They had loads of notice.
"The easyJet crew were brilliant, but they were frustrated as they had to wait for the assistance from the airport. I got the impression that it was not unusual."
Chris, who asked not to give his surname, had arrived at Manchester Airport at 9.15am and booked in at the Terminal 1 assistance reception.
He had to wait for help from assistance staff who guided him through Manchester Airport to departures.
Chris added: "It wouldn't be too much trouble to get a flight from a different airport in future - Liverpool isn't too far, or Leeds.
"For an able-bodied passenger, there are things you can do to mitigate the chaos, you can arrive earlier and you can run. But when you are a disabled customer it's completely in their hands."
ABM, the company which runs Manchester Airport's special assistance service, said: “We understand the importance of the special assistance service we provide passengers, and delivering that service with efficiency, respect, and care is critical.
"We regret any time when our service does not meet that standard, and are working with our teams and partners in examining [Chris'] experience.
"As the aviation industry adjusts to life after the Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing pressure of the national recruitment market, we are experiencing periods of service disruption.
"We know that we are not alone in this challenge and understand the inconvenience and emotional impact which this may have on individuals travelling over the coming weeks.
"We are working in collaboration with all our clients to minimise the impact, doing all we can to keep people, places and spaces safe as we navigate this phase of the pandemic.”
A spokesperson for Manchester Airport added: “We want all passengers to have the best possible experience at Manchester Airport and welcome feedback about services provided by all our partners.
"We are assured by our special assistance provided that all aspects of this case have been fully investigated and any lessons learned are being acted upon.”
