IT WILL go down in holiday folklore - a 27-hour flight delay that left holidaymakers HAPPY!

They got an extra day in the sunshine and VIP treatment in a five-star hotel.

And the 230 tourists returned to Manchester praising charter airline Air 2000.

Their Boeing 757 had been preparing to take off from Lanzarote when a leak to a hydraulic device on one of the wheels was spotted.

A replacement part was needed and the airline arranged to have it flown to the Canary Islands via Britain. The passengers were taken to a five-star hotel near the capital Arrecife where they stayed the night.

The aircraft eventually landed in Manchester at 6.35pm on Tuesday.

Passenger Wendy Langfield said: "The company was brilliant and could not do enough for us."

Keith Lynn, said: "I would rather have been delayed out there than dead. They set us up with some lovely accommodation."

A spokesman for Air 2000 said: "The passengers have been given a letter regarding the delay for insurance purposes. We have done all we can to help.

"No airline likes to have technical difficulties but our main priority is safety."