Newcastle Airport has failed to explain why a disabled woman was left on the tarmac as her plane took off without her.

Margaret Harrop and her husband John were due to fly out with Ryanair from Newcastle to Alicante on 28 September. They were among seven others who were unable to board the flight.

The Independent reported that special assistance provided by Newcastle Airport for disabled passengers arrived at the plane after it had closed for boarding. 

John told LadBible that he and his wife had been waiting in the departure lounge for ‘loads of time’ until the assistance crew came.

A spokesperson from Newcastle Airport said: “Following investigation, we can confirm that seven passengers that were assisted with their journey through the airport were unable to travel. The passengers arrived at the aircraft in advance of the scheduled departure time but were not permitted to board the aircraft. 

“Newcastle International Airport assisted all customers affected by ensuring they departed on the next available flight.”

After being approached by Travel Gossip to explain why Margaret was left on the tarmac, Newcastle Airport said it had nothing more to add.

Speaking to LadBible, John recalled: “We got one of these shuttle lifts that raises you up and puts you in the plane if you’re disabled, and we could see people getting onto the other side of the plane. We couldn’t see their faces, but then we started to see one or two bags being taken off and Margaret said to me, ‘that’s our bag’. I said, ‘it can’t be.’”

He added: “We were standing there for about 25 minutes and then all of a sudden, the plane started to move and Margaret said that plane’s moving, and I said of course it wasn’t we’re not on it yet! But it was.” 

“The bloke in charge of the shuttle was mumbling and he said there’s been an issue, but he wouldn’t say anymore.” 

After being taken back to the terminal, the seven passengers were all offered seats on a Jet2 flight at 06:00 the next day and were given the option of staying at an airport hotel or taking a taxi home before returning in the morning.