Jet2 passengers stranded on plane in Lyon while flying from Manchester to Chambery France
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Jet2 is apologising to holidaymakers who were stranded aboard an aircraft for nearly four hours after it was diverted to a different airport in France due to a severe blizzard.
The plane was flying British skiers from Manchester to Chambery in the French Alps but was forced to land in Lyon, nearly 60 miles from their destination, after circling over the mountain region.
One of the passengers said there was an atmosphere of 'near mutiny' and 'civil war' among the angry tourists who were trapped on the diverted jet while they waited for a gate, and one of them even called a British Embassy official for help.
Passengers were stranded on the plane for nearly four hours while Lyon's airport accepted diverted flights
It occurred on Saturday as Chambery was being walloped by wintry weather that forced all inbound flights to divert and outbound flights to be delayed or cancelled, leaving more than 2,000 travellers stranded.
The Jet2 flight landed in Lyon at 3:30pm but passengers weren't allowed to leave the aircraft until a gate opened up just after 7pm. as the airport was overwhelmed by diverted flights, in addition to scheduled arrivals and departures.
Passenger Andrew McIntyre, from Bramhall, told the Manchester Evening News that he was allowed to leave the aircraft with his 12-year-old son, Jack, who has Type 1 diabetes, so he could receive medical care in the terminal.
But he was forced to leave his wife and daughter on the plane as the situation grew worse.
After Jet2 passengers were allowed to leave the plane they boarded buses and continued their journey
He said passengers and even the flight crew had no idea what was going on as they waited for updates from Lyon airport officials.
Andrew told the newspaper: 'The flight was full - the toilets were out of action, it was a lamentable situation. People had been hugely tolerant, but it just got to the stage where it was becoming like civil war, it was near mutiny on there.
'A lawyer on the plane called a British Embassy asset to say we were being held hostage by Jet2. The embassy spoke to French airport authorities and they let everyone off.
'People had been on the aircraft since 10.15am and then were locked on the plane at Lyon for nearly four hours. It was totally unacceptable."
The region was hit by heavy snowfall on Saturday as a severe blizzard created treacherous travel conditions
Jet2 apologised for the inconvenience and hired coaches to transport the passengers to Chambery, which was hit by heavy snowfall at the weekend.
Airline spokeswoman Gaby O'Grady told MailOnline Travel that several airlines were affected by adverse weather conditions and forced to divert to Lyon.
She said passengers were kept on the plane because the airport struggled to keep up with all of the arrivals.
She said: 'It wasn't the ideal start to their holiday, but we can only apologise to the passengers. We did everything we could to get them on their way.'
A recent study by Which? Travel found that the Jet2 route from Chambery to Manchester experienced some of the lengthiest delays during the 12 months ending August 2014.
The study analysed Civil Aviation Authority data on flight delays for nine of the busiest UK-operating airlines.
It found that the Jet2 route was delayed on average 67 minutes.
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