EasyJet passengers have claimed they were put in for a difficult ride as flightgoers were reportedly left stranded for a whole 22 hours at Tenerife.

The tragic sequence of events was said to have unfolded on Saturday evening and had Brits who looked to return to the UK feeling at a loss.

Heavy fog was the cause of the carnage with flight EZY2008 to Manchester Airport delayed due to air traffic control restrictions.

Couple Derek Hesketh, 59, and Meryl Hesketh, 56, who is disabled, were among those impacted.

The pair claimed the flight company had initially told them ‘we would like to offer you a hotel room for the night if you need one’ and informed them to ‘speak to our ground crew who will be happy to help you’, Manchester Evening News reports.

But shockingly, the two say they were later told ‘everywhere is fully booked’ in spite of this earlier gesture and that they were initially without accommodation.

The flight had been due to take off at 8.30pm but Mr and Mrs Hesketh received an email from easyJet in the afternoon on departure day saying this had been ‘delayed overnight’.

Passengers were also reportedly initially advised against booking their own accommodation in the email due to the risk they might not be able to recoup the cost.

The couple checked out of their rental villa and handed back the keys to their hire car.

But Mr Hesketh said: ‘When we eventually found some easyJet staff, which wasn’t easy, they said there was nothing they could do. They said they couldn’t book us any hotels. But we got there early and I don’t even think they had started trying.

‘They are claiming everywhere is fully booked. It is busy on the island but I looked online and there were rooms, but they were very expensive, about £1,000 a night. I just don’t think they were willing to pay that for everyone. We certainly can’t afford that.

‘We’re just waiting around to see what happens. But the staff have disappeared now. We’ve not been given any food or drinks vouchers as we were told we would be.

‘There’s not even anywhere to sit, we’re just stood around. There’s loads of us here in the same boat. Elderly people, young kids, disabled people like my wife. I’m just hoping the airport don’t throw us out into the cold later as they’ve said they might.’

EasyJet has since apologised to passengers who were booked on the flight. It said the flight had to be delayed due to ‘adverse weather’ in the UK.

A spokesman reiterated that availability of accommodation in Tenerife was ‘extremely limited’.

But Mr Hesketh, from Southport, Merseyside, said he felt ‘trapped and frustrated’.

He continued: ‘The fog is fair enough, obviously they can’t do anything about that. But it’s the way we have been treated. We did what we were told, we came here and they’ve just left us in the lurch, it’s not on.’

Flight restrictions at Manchester Airport were lifted on Saturday evening. But the National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the UK’s main air traffic control provider, said temporary air restrictions would remain in place until Sunday in areas with low visibility while further fog is forecast.

The easyJet spokesman added: ‘Due to the knock-on impact of adverse weather across the UK , flight EZY2008 from Tenerife to Manchester yesterday evening was delayed overnight and will operate later today.

‘We take our responsibility to our customers seriously and always endeavour to source overnight hotel accommodation where needed, however as availability in Tenerife was extremely limited we advised customers who booked their own that they will be reimbursed.

‘The safety and wellbeing of our customers is our highest priority and while this was outside of our control, we are very sorry for the difficulty this will have caused.’

They also said Mr and Mrs Hesketh had been spoken to directly yesterday by the customer support team who helped source accommodation which the pair would be reimbursed for.

The terminal was also apparently made ‘as comfortable as possible in the circumstances’ for those stranded and refreshments were provided.