EasyJet passengers miss wedding, baby scan and work after flights cancelled

A last minute cancellation of an easyJet flight left a British pair of friends devastated and "stranded" in Portugal after they missed a wedding, baby scan, and lost wages.

The axing of the flight from Faro to Bristol last Thursday had a massive knock-on effect for Declan Lally and his pal Richard, who were travelling home after the Europa League final between Rangers and Eintracht Frankfurt.

The pair, from Helensburgh, Scotland, had travelled to Seville, Spain, for the final and were returning home via the neighbouring country following a bus journey, reports Bristol Live.

Self-employed barber Declan, 29, said he and Richard, 28, made it through passport checks and could see the plane on the runway with passengers on board when he was told it had been delayed by 10 minutes.

However, at 11pm, 40 minutes after they were originally due to fly, they were told the flight was cancelled altogether.

Seven hours later, at around 5.30am on Friday, they spoke to third party reps for easyJet who gave them a phone number to call the airline.

They were eventually booked on a flight to Liverpool on Saturday evening after paying for a nearby hotel for the Friday night.

The pair then had to get a taxi and a bus to Manchester Airport as they said no trains were available until 10.30am.

They eventually got a train to Preston, another train to Carlisle and a replacement bus to Glasgow before another train home to Helensburgh.

• 

  Teen in 'world's most inbred family' doesn't know 'which brother got sister pregnant'

The pair had travelled to Portugal from Dublin and Glasgow on a Ryanair flight, but were using easyJet to get home.

Declan said: "I'm a self employed barber so I lost my fully-booked diary on the Friday when I was meant to be home. I also lost out on the Saturday, which had also been fully booked. I had two wedding parties booked in for haircuts – one on Friday and one on Saturday and I had to let them both down.

"I was even supposed to be attending my pals' wedding on Sunday and so also had to let her down – though I managed to show up very late on Sunday night but I was falling asleep in the car over so wasn't much of a guest.

"It means she has lost the money she spent for me to attend her wedding, because I didn't make it in time to see her get married and I missed her meal."

• 

  Four-year-old girl's horror facial injuries after brutal dog attack in her back garden

Richard, meanwhile, missed a baby scan with his partner, but Declan said thankfully he didn't miss work on Monday.

The pair were supposed to be meeting another friend, William, in Bristol so all three of them could fly back to Scotland together.

Declan's plan had been to fly from Faro to Bristol with easyJet and then catch another easyJet flight from Bristol to Glasgow with his friends.

However, as the Faro flight got cancelled, he didn't make his Glasgow flight and claims easyJet have told him he won't get a refund.

To stay up to date with all the latest news, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.

Declan said: "It was third party so there weren't any easyJet staff around when it got cancelled and we didn't see anyone who represented easyJet again in the airport until 5.30am the morning after our cancelled flight.

"The only time I met someone from easyJet was on the plane to Liverpool. Liverpool or London were the only destinations they could change our flight to for two people together. EasyJet said it wasn't their responsibility to get us back to Glasgow."

Declan says that this experience has put him off booking with easyJet again but he still has five flights booked with them in the future.

• 

  Man dies at £3m swingers sex mansion dubbed 'Kinky Towers' as police launch probe

A spokesperson from EasyJet said: “We can confirm that this flight EZY6010 from Faro to Bristol was cancelled as a result of a technical issue onboard the aircraft due to operate the flight.

“We did all possible to minimise the disruption, helping customers transfer to alternative flights for free, with availability on subsequent easyJet flights from Faro on the same day, and provided overnight hotel accommodation and meals for those who required them.

"Any customers who sourced their own hotel accommodation will be reimbursed for this and any other reasonable expenses and anyone who no longer wished to travel can receive a voucher or a full refund.

“We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused by the cancellation. The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is our highest priority.”

Source: Read Full Article