A mum took control of an overcrowded airport departure lounge and successfully helped board eight planes.

Faye Williams was returning from a holiday in Corfu on October 24 when she found herself stuck in a crushing crowd of passengers for over an hour.

Departure information had been released too early, causing several flights' worth of passengers to gather at the same gates.

The crowd quickly became so dense that those on earlier flights couldn't get through.

Realising the situation, Faye approached a staff member to ask whether extra assistance was available.

When told there wasn't, she offered to help and explained her idea.

The staff member allowed her to use the tannoy system and Faye quickly and positively guided passengers to make space, opening a clear route to the gate.

Faye, who runs an events business in Exeter, Devon, said: "I was just pleased I could help."

"I could see there was potential for it becoming a real problem for the airport."

"I knew I could help, so I wanted to offer and try to prevent the situation getting any worse."

"Luckily the airport staff members agreed."

Faye and her family had arrived early for their flight.



They soon realised that their departure information had been released early and made their way to the departure hall.

Faye noticed the crowd becoming increasingly tighter until everyone was shoulder to shoulder with more people arriving at the back.

She said: "We followed the crowd but ended up completely gridlocked and more people were joining."

"I could feel the pressure growing and growing until the amount of people started crushing."

At one point, Faye helped a woman who was beginning to faint to get out of the crush.

Following the incident, Faye decided to speak to one of the staff and offer assistance.

She explained her plan and the staff member agreed, granting her access to the tannoy system.

Faye said: "I got a bit nervous just before going on the tannoy."

"But once I started speaking and seeing people responding, it felt great."

"I asked for everyone's attention and explained that no further flights would be boarded as the gates had come to a standstill with a gridlocked and crushing crowd. "

"I then asked for team work to release the crush, told everyone to take five steps back, waited for them to do so, then five steps more, then once more."

She then organised the boarding process by calling each flight in turn.

Passengers raised their hands when their flight was announced, then walked through a clear channel created in the crowd.

Over about an hour and a half, Faye managed to help board eight flights - before boarding her own.

She was applauded as she left the departure hall and even received a shout-out from the pilot on board her flight home.

She said: "It was wonderful, but also quite embarrassing!"

"People clapped, someone bought me a cup of tea, and someone else gave me chocolate buttons. "

"In the end, I was just happy I could help get people home safely."