A MAN’s FIFTIETH birthday celebration in Lanzarote has fallen foul of the coronavirus outbreak crackdown.

Graham Garswood, a technician from Blackburn, told the Lancashire Telegraph he was ‘mad’ at airline Ryanair for a ‘lack of communication’ over the crisis.

He said: “I am mad because Ryanair have not contacted us and we found out that our flight had been cancelled from a post someone on the same flight had put on Facebook.

“It doesn’t feel like a birthday because I’m non-stop worrying about getting home.

“We can’t even go out for a meal or anything because the whole place is on lockdown.”

The group of five – Mr Garswood, his wife, son and two friends - are due to fly home on Saturday, but the flight operator has cancelled most flights to and from Spain and its islands, including Lanzarote.

They are expecting to be stuck in their hotel in Puerto Del Carmen until they can get new flights home.

A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “In response to the decision of the Spanish Government to ‘lock down’ the entire country to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus, Ryanair Group Airlines has been forced to severely reduce flights to and from Spain, the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands.

“From midnight on Wednesday 18 March until midnight on Tuesday 24 March we will cut flight schedules by over 80 per cent.

“We are contacting all affected customers by email to advise them of their options and we urge customers not to call us.”

The country is on full lockdown after Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared a national emergency last week, in the country and the British government told Brits in the country to return home as soon as possible.

It comes just days after the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) asked Brits to avoid travelling anywhere outside of the UK.

An FCO spokesperson said: “We recognise that any British people currently overseas may be nervous about the impact of coronavirus on their travel and their health.

“We are in close contact with travel providers and our international partners to provide support to those British people affected by ongoing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”