Airline passengers were left vomiting and passing out after being stranded in an Italian airport on Sunday due to new EU border rules.
The chaos ensued as around 100 passengers due to return to Manchester Airport on as EasyJet flight from Milan's Linate airport were stuck in three-hour queues as their flight departed without them.
Pictures and videos shared online showed scenes of mayhem as large queues formed at the airport, with a number of passengers falling ill as a result of the heat.
EasyJet said it was trying to support passengers during a situation that is "outside of our control" because of the new border control checks.
It is understood that EasyJet delayed the flight by over 50 minutes to allow customers extra time but as crew reached their safety regulated operating hours the flight had to depart for Manchester.
One passenger told the BBC that she and her boyfriend faced a 20 hour wait in the airport for a replacement flight.
Keira, 17, from Oldham, said it was costing her mother about £520 for new flights, which will land at Gatwick instead of Manchester.
Kiera said: “We got here at 7.30am for our flight at 11am so were super early. We got to Border Control and it was a massive queue of people. I wasn't feeling great anyway because I think I'd got food poisoning.
“At about 10.50am they brought some water over for people, and when we got to the front of the queue someone asked us if we were going to Manchester, and told us our flight had just gone.
"There were only about 30 people got on the plane, and about 100 people didn't.”
Kiera said she had only been offered £12.25 in compensation after emailing the airline about their situation - less than the price of a sandwich.
Adam Lomas, 33, was on holiday in Milan with his wife and their four-month-old daughter when they became stranded at the airport.
He said he tried to contact the airline but could only get through to “chatbots” who hung up on him after a few minutes due to “audio issues.”
Adam said his family were now trying to find a hotel and book a flight to London, where they would then have to get the train to Manchester, while other passengers had driven to Pisa to fly from there
"The airport and Easyjet have spent hours arguing with each other about who is to blame," he added.
EasyJet blamed the delays on the implementation of the EU's new Entry/Exit System (EES), which it said were “unacceptable”.
The system, which involves people having their fingerprints registered and photograph taken to enter the European Schengen Area, was supposed to be brought in in October last year, but only became fully operational on April 10.
The UK government has updated its guidance to people travelling to the area that they might need to register their biometric details when they arrive.
EasyJet said it informed customers of the new system and advised them to check their travel documents, allow extra time at airports, be ready for biometric checks, and factor extra time when planning onward travel.
An EasyJet spokesperson said: “We are aware that some passengers departing from Milan Linate today experienced longer than usual waiting times at passport control and we advised customers due to fly to allow additional time to make their way through the airport.
"We have been doing all possible to minimise the impact of the airport queues, holding flights to allow customers extra time and providing free flight transfers for any customers who may have missed their flight including EJU5420 to Manchester.
"We continue to urge border authorities to ensure they make full and effective use of the permitted flexibilities for as long as needed while European Entry / Exit System is implemented, to avoid these unacceptable border delays for our customers.
"While this is outside of our control, we are sorry for any inconvenience caused."
There were lengthy delays at airports across Europe earlier this week with the new digital border controls coming into effect, as travellers at terminals including Lisbon, Milan and Paris, took hours to clear immigration.
Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has accused the EU of punishing British holidaymakers over Brexit by subjecting them to the queues.
O'Leary said there had been “significant disruption” at passport control since the new system was first introduced in October last year, with the system being introduced in stages.
