After spending a splendid holiday in Sorrento, my wife and I, both in our 80s, left our hotel at 1pm on Monday, October 29 to be on time for our flight to Malta on board a Ryanair aircraft from Naples at 4pm.

By that time, we were still not called for boarding. At 5pm, we started to ask questions which no one could answer.

We could notice that other passengers had no problem departing to their destinations.

At 5.30pm, we were told that the flight had been cancelled and that we had to consult the Ryanair office for further instructions.

A long queue quickly formed, some 20 metres long. After four hours in the queue, we were still waiting for our turn. By now, some people were crying and we could hear shouting and booing. At one stage, the police arrived. Someone phoned the Maltese Embassy informing them of the situation developing at Naples airport involving Maltese citizens.

From what we could gather, Ryanair was offering one night accommodation at a hotel after which you had to make your own arrangements for a flight to Malta. We and others had our reasons to return to our home as quickly as possible.

We contacted our relatives in Malta to book us a flight to Malta at the first opportunity. Flights from Rome were not possible. They booked us on a Ryanair flight from Pisa, leaving at 11 next morning. It was now late at night and trains stopped working.

We left Naples at 1am on a night-long trip of eight hours to Pisa, where we arrived right on time to catch our flight to Malta.

It was a nightmare.

Questions have to be answered by all those responsible.