A pilot claimed air traffic control at Ronaldsway ‘refused to stay open to allow a Gatwick easyJet flight head to the island.

Regular flier James Morgan videoed the pilot announcing to frustrated passengers they would have to disembark and find a hotel for the night after the flight was cancelled.

The flight had been delayed until 7.30pm which meant there would need to be an extension to the Isle of Man airport’s opening times to accommodate the plane’s arrival and then return to the UK.

Mr Morgan said: ‘I've been commuting regularly to a client in England recently. Since the beginning of August, three flights have been cancelled. I generally fly out on Sunday night or Monday morning. The last Sunday night I flew out on was cancelled while Monday mornings are consistently late.

‘I know easyJet are delayed from Gatwick but we are at the mercy of big airports like Gatwick. They have vastly bigger amounts of traffic with only one runway.

‘The Isle of Man airport has a devil may care attitude to easyJet. It seems to be obvious now that the Isle of Man airport won't allow any flights to the island after 7pm.’

From his experience, Mr Morgan knew early on the flight was never going to take off. The flight was scheduled to depart at 6.05pm but had been delayed until 7.30pm.

He said: ‘As soon as the flight was delayed to 7.30pm on Thursday night it was obvious it wasn't flying we were just going through the motions as Isle of Man airport closes at 9pm.

The EasyJet app wouldn't allow us to manage the disruption. That feature failed for two hours. By the time I was able to, I had already rebooked the flight for this morning and received the voucher from the easyJet staff.

‘I'm used to it by now but not happy about it, But there are elderly people there who were confused and not able to use the app and quite confused about what they should do next. There were also tourists on the flight and it's not good look for the Isle of Man.’

In the video, the captain told passengers on the intercom that the Isle of Man Airport had ‘refused point blank’ to remain open longer.

He said: ‘Unfortunately, the Isle of Man air traffic control in the tower there are refusing to hold the airport open longer than the curfew time of 9pm.

‘Quite often we can get an extension. Tonight (Thursday) they’re refusing point blank so there is no way we’ll be able to get you there, get turned around and get out of there before the airport closes.

‘I’m afraid we’re going to have to deboard the aircraft, I’m terribly sorry. We would like nothing more than to get you where you need to be.’

The issue over extending the airport times has been an ongoing issue for some time.

There was controversy just over two weeks ago when the Isle of Man Airport closed while two flights were heading to the island. easyJet and Loganair both had to divert flights after the received radio messages that Ronaldsway was closing and they would not be able to land.

The issue largely stems from staff shortages and the need for air traffic control staff to have breaks which are a legal necessity.

Earlier this year, Isle of Man Airport Director Gary Cobb – who is leaving the role later this year – explained the airport was trying to recruit more staff. As of February there were 17 air traffic control officers with nine fully validated with more being trained up.

Whether the airport opening times can be extended depends on the staff on duty being in a position to work overtime which is not always the case.