As many as 800 passengers have been stranded at Gatwick Airport for five days after an airline cancelled its flights.
Many of the passengers, who were due to travel with Nigerian airline Med-View, have been sleeping on the floor since Friday, and may not get a flight until the new year.
Med-View blamed technical problems which have reportedly put one of its three planes out of action.
Another witness described seeing a woman appealing to a member of staff to help her mother get home for Christmas after she was discharged from hospital in the UK
But furious passengers, some of whom paid more than £1,000 for a ticket, accused the company of ‘abandoning’ them.
Ola Dami, 26, from Coventry, said he missed Christmas with his family in Lagos because of the chaos.
She told The Sun: ‘I feel abandoned and disrespected. I’ve been told there will be no flights until next year.’
Police were called to the south terminal to maintain control amid angry scenes.
One Twitter user, ‘Georgina’, filmed a confrontation between a customer and a member of staff.
‘If you listen well, you will hear a customer say “don’t tell me not to shout or I will shout,’ she wrote.
One Twitter user, ‘Georgina’, filmed a confrontation between a customer and a member of staff. ‘If you listen well, you will hear a customer say “don’t tell me not to shout or I will shout,’ she wrote
Another witness saw a woman appealing to a member of staff to help her mother get home for Christmas after she was discharged from hospital in the UK.
One woman became dizzy and collapsed at 10.20am on Wednesday and was treated at the scene by South East Coast Ambulance Service.
A letter to passengers from the Civil Aviation Authority on December 27 offered passengers a hotel room for the night.
Med-View leases its three planes. Its biggest, a Boeing 777, is being repaired after suffering a technical glitch on December 22 while the other jets, a 737 and a 767, are still in service.
Med-View leases its three planes. Its biggest, a Boeing 777, is being repaired after suffering a technical glitch on December 22. The airline also leases a Boeing 737(pictured)
Gatwick Airport said: ‘Due to a lack of available aircraft, a significant number of Med-view passengers have not flown out as expected and are currently still at the airport. Gatwick would like to apologise on the airline’s behalf.
‘Airport staff are also assisting these passengers where possible and will continue to work with the airline and other authorities to ensure that Medview honours its commitments to their passengers.’
Passengers have also been left stranded at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
MailOnline has contacted Med-View for comment.