A group of elderly pilgrims has been left stranded in Portugal for up to five days after their return flight was cancelled due to fog.
The Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh took the group of 84 elderly people to Fatima where they have spent the past week on a Marian Pilgrimage.
They arrived at Lisbon Airport early on Thursday for their return easyJet flight to Edinburgh but were told it had been delayed due to weather conditions before it was eventually cancelled.
The airline says it cannot get all of the group back home until October 31 and has proposed various travel options including overnight stays for passengers in Luton, Gatwick or Milan, Italy.
Group leader Father Scott Deeley said: "Some of the group are quite elderly and there's a lot of them who require medication.
"There are a lot of them in their 70s and 80s, but easyJet have told us we can't all come at once and some people could be here for five days.
"There was chance the airline was going to arrange a 'rescue flight' to get them home but they changed their mind."
The group travelled to Portugal for the centenary of the Marian apparitions, when the Virgin Mary is said to have been seen by three shepherd children in Fatima in 1917.
It attracts millions of devout Catholics every year but the centenary of the apparition is expected to attract as many as eight million pilgrims.
The group has been accommodated in a hotel in Lisbon while they wait for a return flight home.
A spokesman for the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh said: "The tour operator, who organised the pilgrimage, says this is the worst situation of a stranded party she's come across in their company's history.
"EasyJet says it expects them to return in small groups over the coming days but this means the elderly and infirm will have to travel without their group leader, who has to stay in Portugal until the final members of the group leave on Tuesday."
A airline spokeswoman said: "EasyJet can confirm that flight EZY6982 from Lisbon to Edinburgh on October 26 was cancelled due to severe fog in Lisbon, preventing our inbound aircraft from landing.
"We understand how frustrating that was for our passengers but the safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew is always easyJet's highest priority.
"EasyJet is working hard to bring all passengers back to the UK over the next few days. As we have no seats available from Lisbon to Edinburgh over the next week, we will provide seats on easyJet flights via Luton, Gatwick and Milan to Edinburgh.
"All affected passengers have been and will be provided with hotel accommodation where that is needed.
"Passengers who book their own hotel or a flight with another airline will be reimbursed by easyJet.
"While the circumstances are outside of the airline's control, easyJet apologises for any inconvenience caused."
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