PASSENGERS paid for a plane to Southend but got a bus from Birmingham after a flight was cancelled without notice.

Customers waiting at Glasgow Airport were expecting a quick hop along the eastern side of the UK but found themselves in the West Midlands rather than East Anglia after problems on the FlyBe flight.

The airport has assured passengers that they had no involvement in the issue that resulted in the flight’s cancellation.

Joanna Reid, 36, was planning to visit friends in Southend and had booked herself on to the 8.30pm flight on Thursday night.

She said: “It was a nightmare. The flight was delayed more and more until it got cancelled at 10pm.

“We then got told we could take a flight to Birmingham and get a coach to Southend if we rushed to the gate immediately. I did not want to accept a refund and ruin my plans so I took the flight.”

But the drama did not stop there.

She added: “We landed in Birmingham and were given a £5 food voucher to get food for the journey, but we only had 15 minutes to do it.”

After using the voucher to buy food and running to the coach, Ms Reid and the rest of the passengers were told the driver needed to take a half hour break.

The coach finally arrived at Southend Airport at around 3.30am but Ms Reid was very unimpressed with the service from FlyBe and Southend Airport.

She said: “I picked Southend Airport because I thought it would be a lot easier than going through one of the major London airports.

“I definitely will not be using FlyBe or Southend Airport ever again after what happened.”

A spokesman for Stobart Group, who run Southend Airport, said: “Stobart Air can confirm that flight BE6167 from Glasgow to Southend on July 19 was cancelled.

“All affected passengers were offered a full refund or rebooked on an alternative flight.

“Stobart Air apologises for any inconvenience caused.’’