A family has been talking about their nightmare after learning that their £ 4,000 holiday had been canceled by text message while they waited at the front door.
Steven Hession, 45, was due to travel to Kos Airport from Manchester on Saturday with his wife, Kerrie, and their two children for a family wedding, LancsLive reports. After hours of delays and chaos, the family arrived at the exit gate only to receive a text message from TUI informing them that their flight and vacation had been canceled.
Mr Hession, a father of two Blackburn children, said the family left home around 11am and arrived at the airport half an hour later for their 3:25 pm flight, but was received. due to long delays and queues extending from one terminal to another.
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Undaunted, they lined up with the rest of the passengers, only to receive the last-minute text message from the airline almost four hours after the scheduled departure time informing them of the flight, and in as a result, his two weeks of vacation were ruled out.
The text sent to Steven’s wife, Kerrie, informs them that the cancellation was due to “a major operating interruption” and means that all vacations have been canceled. He apologizes for the inconvenience and disappointment, says compensation per person is available, as well as a return voucher, and a full refund of the total cost of the booking will be made within 14 days.
Steven, who works for British Gas, said: “We flew to Kos with about 40 other people because my wife’s brother, who is also from Blackburn, has to get married, so we all flew from different parts of the UK It was horrible, even on arrival to check in at Terminal 2, the queues extended to Terminal 1.
“After many hours of delays, we were at the boarding gate shortly after 7pm and there were no staff there, but then we saw the cabin crew walking towards the plane, which But then we heard people crying … and everyone received this text while saying that unfortunately your holiday has been canceled, click on this link to get a refund within 14 days “.
Steven Hession, smiling before the holidays are canceled (Image: LancsLive)
He claims no one from the company came to confront the disgruntled passengers, and the airport police spoke to them. However, his ordeal did not end, as he claims that the passengers were stranded for a couple of hours at the departure gate, as they were officially between departures and arrivals.
He said: “We were stuck on arrivals at Manchester Airport as they couldn’t take us back to the arrivals, and they couldn’t let us through the departures because we hadn’t left, so we having to listen. ” Eventually, they were escorted and had to go through security checks again, before facing another chaotic scene to retrieve their luggage.
He added: “When we got to the carousel of the dam, there was no one there and we didn’t know where our luggage was. Then they said the bags would come out at number eight, and it turned out to be number two, so everyone ran around the airport. You could see the luggage of people left over from the night before: it was a game of riddles about flights and cases. “
Friendly friends showed up in the middle of the night to take the disappointed family back to Blackburn, which means they arrived home shortly after midnight, almost 13 hours after they left home. Fortunately, the bride and groom managed to fly to Kos on Sunday, and Steven booked new flights for him and his family in time for the wedding.
He has to fly from Newcastle on Wednesday and his wife and children from Leeds Bradford Airport at a considerable extra cost. But he says questions hang over his accommodation when they arrive and that if they manage to find one, they could lose their refund.
A screenshot of the text message Kerrie Hession received from TUI (Image: LancsLive)
He added: “Now that we have the flights, it’s a bet because our hotel is full because it’s mid-term … the TUI representative tells people that if they show up, that means your vacation is valid, so that you may not receive a refund.
“The holidays themselves were four thousand, and I spent a thousand on new flights and about £ 200 on minibuses for them. If we get to the hotel, they might have accommodation and take care of us, and pay additional, or three or four thousand more could come out.
He added: “It was a nightmare at the airport, with nightmare scenes and huge queues, and now the nightmare is not over. Luckily, we have family and friends out there, so if there’s a problem at the arrival, although not ideal, should be good for one night, then it is a case of credit card and booking website.It is not great for mental health, after packing and all the ‘excitement, after being sent home … if it weren’t for the wedding, we would have booked a holiday in the UK so that the kids can get the most out of it in the middle of the term.
A TUI spokesman said: “We would like to apologize to some of our customers who have suffered flight delays in recent days. The mid-May holidays are always an incredibly busy period with many customers wanting to escape, and this We understand that many of our clients have been looking forward to these holidays, as this is the first peak period in more than two years that has not been affected by border closures and mass testing requirements. Our priority is always to take customers on holiday safely.
TUI apologizes to passengers after cancellation (Image: PA)
“While flight delays and cancellations with us are rare, unfortunately the sudden increase in people going on holiday combined with various operational and supply chain problems has resulted in a small number of our flights being Our staff has been working tirelessly to support affected customers, through direct communications and providing accommodation and transfers when needed, as well as meals and refreshments.
“As the largest holiday carrier in the UK, we carry millions of holiday customers every year, and most of our flights are taking off as planned. Our flight schedule today is not affected by cancellations. “We continue to work closely with our airport partners to monitor the situation and provide the best possible holiday experience to our customers. We would like to thank them for their patience and understanding at this time.”
A spokesman for Manchester Airport said: “We are aware of the challenges facing various airlines and management agents, which is leading to delays in check-in and baggage retrieval for some passengers. Airlines and their ground operators are responsible for their own baggage check-in and handling services, and passengers are advised to direct any questions or concerns about these issues, or anything related to your flight, to your airline. , which will be the best position to respond.
“However, this is not the experience we want passengers at Manchester Airport to have and we are sorry to hear that customers have been disrupted. We are in contact with the top management teams of airlines and airlines. relevant ground operators to understand the cause of these problems and support their efforts to resolve them as soon as possible.
“Our colleagues are available at the terminal to offer customer support and we are working hard to make security waiting times as fast as possible. Our advice remains that passengers arrive three hours before the flight and are as prepared as they can for their trip to the airport. “
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