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Passengers were left shocked after an airline cancelled flights from Liverpool with just several days notice - reportedly because of Brexit.

Blue Air has terminated a number of their journeys from John Lennon Airport , leaving many stranded and paying for non-refundable hotels.

Gareth Hill, from West Derby , said he received an email from the airline telling him his flight to Rome in February was cancelled but wasn't told why.

A spokesperson for the airport said they believed this was due to landing rights because of Brexit.

The 32-year-old was planning to take his wife, Andrea, on a romantic break in two weeks, and now he doesn't know how he will make it to Italy.

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He said: "It has been a nightmare. The hotel is non-refundable and I just don't know how we are going to get out there.

"There are no flights from Liverpool, and if we went to London, by the time we make it down to London, that is most of our holiday gone."

Devastated, he said he had booked the tickets well before December as it was a Christmas gift for his wife.

He added: "The customer services just told me to ring the head office in Romania, and the phone number for their office in John Lennon Airport just hangs up on you."

Another customer, who did not want to be named said: "I had an email stating my flight was cancelled due to operational reasons. No other excuse.

"Refund offered but I can’t get one as the credit card I used has been repaid and account closed.

"I've also tried calling all customer service numbers provided but rang out and cut off after 35 minutes three times."

It seems the company has terminated their journeys to Rome and Milan from Speke .

A spokesperson for John Lennon Airport said: "They have stopped some of their flights to Rome and Milan, but you can still fly to Romania, as they are a Romanian-based company.

"We believe it is because of Brexit and the landing rights in those countries.

"They are still operating in the UK and Liverpool."

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

Blue Air was founded in 2004 and has its headquarters in Buchrest. It carries around five million passengers a year to over 100 destinations.

They said on their website: "We shall take all the measures necessary to avoid delay in your transportation. To avoid the cancellation of a flight, under exceptional circumstances, we may decide that such flight be made on our behalf by another company."

They also state that if your flight has been cancelled, you could be offered a refund of a ticket with another airline if possible.

The official Twitter account tweeted yesterday to promote flights to Rome, which prompted some angry responses.

One said: "You just canceled my flights to Rome."

Another said: "I would but you cancelled my flight two weeks before I was due to go."

Another added: "I was going to Rome but you’ve cancelled my flight!"

Blue Air were contacted by the ECHO for comment.