At least 100 travellers planning to fly to Canada were unable to board their flight after they found no airport staff available last night to process them through to the aircraft, despite a rescheduling of almost four hours.

Flyers were told yesterday afternoon that the Air Canada 1819 service to Toronto — intended for departure at 9.35pm — was delayed until 1.15am.

Travellers were advised to arrive two hours ahead of their flight — only to be met with an empty airport when check-in and security staff reportedly ended their shift at 8.30pm.

Andrew Peters, who was forced to abandon the flight, levelled blame at the airline.

He said: “Air Canada knew very early on that they were going to be delayed and they should have said ‘your flight may be late, but you still have to be there by a certain time’.”

Mr Peters added: “There was no communication with the airline. Air Canada should have had a representative there.”

Mr Peters, from St George’s said his flight to Toronto was initially scheduled for 9.35pm, but he was notified of several delays at about 3pm until his flight was ultimately rescheduled for 1.15am.

He told The Royal Gazette that he and most other passengers arrived at about 11.15pm, only to find the airport almost empty.

“There was no one there at all,” Mr Peters said. “There were a couple of employees and a policeman but no one from the airport who could let us through.”

Mr Peters said that he was among up to 120 people who were stuck in lobby limbo until an airport worker told commuters that other staff had gone home and that no one could let them through.

He said: “There were a lot of people — residents and tourists — and a lot of them were stuck.”

Mr Peters explained that everyone was left to rebook their own flights and hotels, as well as find their own way home or to accommodation.

He added that no one was issued a refund or compensation.

Mr Peters, who planned to spend four weeks in Toronto, said that he was supposed to help one of his children move into a new apartment today.

He added that he rescheduled his flight for tomorrow, but said: “I’ve got almost two days less time now.”

Mr Peters said Air Canada had given no warning of when to arrive for the flight in relation to the airport’s operating hours.

He added that the airline had “ample time” to make airport personnel aware of any changes so that LF Wade could advise staff or passengers of any necessary adjustments.

FlightRadar24 showed that the flight’s actual departure time was 1.44am.

Skyport, the operator of LF Wade Airport, states on its website: “In the event of flight delays, we suggest passengers should still arrive for check-in approximately three hours before the originally scheduled departure time.”

It adds: “In the case of severe delays, passengers should contact their airline for updates.”

Skyport and Air Canada have both been contacted for comment.