BUDGET airline easyJet has been criticised by a sheriff and ordered to pay compensation to a Scots couple who they left stranded in Sicily.
Niall Caldwell and his wife Aileen had pleaded with staff from the airline to help them make their flight after they were met with horrendous queues at the airport.
The couple, from Edinburgh, arrived at the airport on the Italian island two hours ahead of their scheduled flight to London Gatwick last September.
However, there was large queues at the easyJet check-in/bag drop queue with only three members of staff on duty. They were then held up by further delays at security and passport control which led to them missing their flight.
Mr Caldwell, 42, the managing director of Scots engineering firm Artemis, asked three times for passengers leaving on earlier flights to be prioritised but was refused.
After missing their flight, easyJet told the pair that there wasn't another flight for two days and they would have to pay for it themselves.
Mr Caldwell launched a legal action against easyJet on his return to Scotland and a sheriff has now found in his favour and ordered the company to pay him £1042.90 in compensation.
In a written judgement, Sheriff Tom Welsh QC blamed easyJet's "operational inadequacies" for the delays experienced by the Caldwells.
He said: "In my opinion, provided the passenger presents for check-in on time for a confirmed reserved seat and is not at fault, he is entitled to compensation if denied boarding and the responsibility for taking reasonable steps to facilitate passage through the carrier's own bag-drop queues and airport security queues, rests with the carrier.
In court, easyJet denied liability and said it was the responsibility of passengers to reach the departure gate in time for their flight.
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