60 passengers stranded as new plane breaks down

SIXTY PASSENGERS were left stranded in Manchester for 24 hours after one of Aurigny's new planes suffered a technical fault.

The cancellation of Thursday's 7.10pm flight led to a furious bust-up between staff and passengers who felt that they had been let down by the airline after it failed to get them on yesterday's early-morning service.

That left passengers facing the long wait before eventually boarding yesterday's 7.10pm flight.

Some passengers even resorted to booking flights with rival airline Flybe in an effort to get to the island sooner.

And a couple have described their disappointment after losing a whole day of their short trip to see their newborn granddaughter. The grandmother said passengers even had to buy their own food during the delay, although they were told by staff to keep their receipts.

'We have just been fobbed off,' she said. 'We are only coming over for four days to see our granddaughter, who was born five months ago. It's taken Aurigny 24 hours to get us to Guernsey and we're really upset because we've lost a whole day.'

Aurigny commercial director Malcolm Coupar apologised for any disappointment felt by passengers as a result of the technical fault.