62-yr-old Paddy Costello, who is in a wheelchair, was left stranded at the wrong departure gate.
Paddy was trying to return home to Ireland after visiting his daughter Gillian in Nottingham.
Paddy, who suffered a stroke four years ago, was told to wait by a departure gate at East Midlands Airport by staff who said they would come back later to help him get on board.
But the Ryanair plane to Knock then took off without him from a different gate over an hour later – leaving him stranded.
The airport has apologised and said: “We would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused by an error in communication between the airport and the handling agent responsible for these passengers.
“As soon as we were made aware of the situation, we reacted quickly by aiding the passengers in re-booking flights and offering an overnight stay in a premium hotel on site
We are reviewing the situation closely and working with the handling agent to ensure that this does not happen again in the future.”
A Ryanair spokesman said: “While we regret any inconvenience caused, wheelchair services at East Midlands Airport are operated by the airport – at great expense to the airlines – and East Midlands Airport are responsible for this service and any problems with it.”
Paddy was offered another flight but he had no way of extending his stay. A lady with impaired vision also missed the flight as she was accompanying Paddy to the same gate.