'British Airways left us on a freezing Canadian island for days'

A man who was left stuck with his family in a freezing Canadian province for days after their flight to the US was forced to land said British Airways' handling of the situation had been "ridiculous". Jon Shipman from Crosby, Liverpool, was among hundreds of passengers left at St John's in Newfoundland after his flight from London was diverted due to a medical emergency. He said after landing they were told to go and find hotels with "just the clothes on their back" in sub-zero temperatures after being effectively "fobbed off" by the airline. British Airways (BA) said it was "very sorry" for the experience and it had "been in touch to offer a gesture to make things right". The plane had been forced to land on the large island province on Tuesday due to the medical emergency, but then could not depart again due to a "temporary technical issue", BA said. Two days later, the flight had resumed its journey to Houston, but speaking before take-off, Shipman said many passengers were not happy. "Furious is an understatement. We are being told we are now heading to Houston. I won't believe it til we take off," he said. Shipman and his family were heading to Texas to see their best friends