Irish passengers have been stranded at home and abroad as Aer Lingus cancels all flights following technical difficulties.

Aer Lingus has apologised for the inconvenience but said that no flights within Europe and the United Kingdom will go from 2pm today.

Emily Rafter from Co Wexford is currently stuck in the Netherlands after her flight didn't show up.

"We really have no idea what's going on and it's just a case of sitting here and waiting", she told Newstalk.

"It's a mess"

Emily checked in yesterday and upon arriving at Amsterdam Airport she found that she wouldn't be going home soon.

"It's frustrating", she said.

"There's kids here, you know, running around with all this energy. They can't do anything."

"It's a mess."

"Communication has been shocking"

Angela from Donegal was due to fly from Dublin to Toronto at 13:10 and has not heard anything since the flight didn't show.

She told Newstalk that people in the queues have been handed Aer Lingus' press release and now European flight ticket-holders are leaving. "

"When staff were asked re transatlantic flights, the reply was 'we are hopeful but can't guarantee'."

Aer Lingus is currently unable to speak with passengers directly.

Angela described the communication as "shocking", saying Terminal 2 in Dublin Airport is "chaotic".

Ryanair has come to the rescue for some Irish flyers, offering €100 flights from Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports.

✨Ryanair offers rescue fares ✨for stranded Aer Lingus passengers in Dublin, Cork and Shannon. pic.twitter.com/b5APHVJyu6

— Ryanair (@Ryanair) September 10, 2022

Another passenger, Emmet, was due to fly to Lanzarote at 14:45 but his flight has been cancelled.

He says he "stood in a queue since 11am to be now told to go home by DAA staff" who "were not at all pleasant".

"Complete and utter lack of information has made it much worse also."

Thousands impacted

The Aer Lingus reservation systems are currently down, which has caused long queues of passengers trying to check in at Dublin Airport, with some even having to queue outside the terminal.

However, the airline has now advised ticket-holders not to come to the airport as flights for the rest of the day have been cancelled.

Thousands of passengers are said to be impacted.

The Aer Lingus website remains inaccessible and the disruption is expected to last for several hours.

Additional reporting by Tom Douglas.