A Christmas trip to Lapland was cancelled on Saturday “leaving children crying at the airport”.
The early morning Enter Air flight – part of a Transun Winter Wonderland Daybreak – was cancelled because of a technical fault with the aircraft.
The flight was meant to depart at 8.15am but was cancelled at 10.30am by Transun, which specialises in the Arctic Circle, Lapland and the Northern Lights.
Customers were offered flights from other airports or refunds.
One family, the Ludkins, who spent £2,000 on tickets, said children were left crying at Norwich International Airport, the Eastern Daily Press reported.
“We’re not going to be able to go from another airport because it’s such a short time until Christmas,” said Bonnie Ludkin.
“It’s so bad. We got up at 4am today to get to the airport early and we waited five hours only to be told they had to cancel the trip.”
The day trip was to feature activities such as a reindeer sleigh ride and a visit to see Father Christmas.
James Crawshaw, commercial director of Transun, said: “We at Transun were informed of the problem by the airline as soon as the issue became known and we immediately relayed all the information we had to passengers in Norwich.
“The airline did their best to fix the problem with the cockpit’s on-board Flight Management System but the ensuing delay meant that even by delaying the evening’s return flight; it would not be possible to operate the day in Lapland as planned.
“We offer our sincere apologies to all passengers who were affected and recognise that there will be many disappointed children and parents.”
At least 85% of the passengers were reallocated to other departures while some chose to accept a full refund.
Transun contacted passengers directly and through their travel agents.