> How matters appear to have changed, returning from the threshold for regular passengers when once, a skipper would'nt even wait for his own crew.
I don't think this this is going to be the norm now. As others have written above, there must be more to it than we are told. Especially since they could have taken free seats on another flight three hours later and would not have been stranded in their holiday paradise.
And what about the other 200 passengers who boarded on time and some of which may have missed their connecting flights because of this delay? Did these flights also wait for them? Or those who missed their last train home from the airport and had to take a 200 Pound taxi ride instead (happened to me once, only it were Euros instead of Pounds). Why are Swiss trains among the most punctual in the world? Because they never wait for anything and stick to their timetable no matter what!