Two far north couples say their “absolutely brilliant” holiday was ruined by flight delays and poor communication.
Robin and Rona Young and his sister Helen Mackay and her husband Alister were left in Palma Airport for 13 hours with next-to-no information before being told their flight to Inverness had been cancelled.
They, along with the rest of the passengers, were then billeted in a fleapit hotel before being ushered out at the dead of night to catch their replacement plane.
Mr Young, from Thurso, said it was an “absolutely horrendous” end to a happy week-long holiday near Magaluf.
“I’ve travelled overseas regularly for the past 50 years and I’ve never experienced anything like that before”, he said.
“It was absolutely horrendous.”
Flight finally cancelled after hours of limbo
The two couples arrived at the airport at 5.30am for the 9am flight back to Inverness and then waited – and waited.
“We were told by our airline AlbaStar there would be a 45-minute delay and then about noon, we were told the plane was being repaired,” Mr Young said.
“I never received any information from Tui (their tour operators) as to what was going on.”
By early afternoon, information received by other passengers indicated the flight had been cancelled and was being rescheduled for the following morning.
Mr Young, 74, said: “There must have been 80-90 passengers with young bairns and people in wheelchairs and there was just so much confusion about what was going on.”
The retired Vulcan worker claimed passengers were threatened by an AlbaStar assistant, and told if they did not remove their luggage from the collection point and leave the airport, the police would be called.
Soon after, eight police officers and seven security guards arrived at the departure lounge.
Mr Young said he and several others eventually persuaded police to escort three of them to speak to the Tui reps who were outside the airport.
‘The whole place stank of urine’
The latter confirmed the flight had been cancelled until the following morning and that two buses were to take the passengers to a hotel at 6pm.
Mr Young said the hotel was “absolutely disgusting”.
“It was an 18-30 hotel and when we arrived, there were people running around drunk, swirling bottles of drink round their heads, shouting, roaring and fighting.
“On our way up to our rooms, we saw two policemen with batons running through the grounds.
“The whole place stank of urine and there was loud music blaring.
“My sister was so scared, she would not stay in her room so she and her hubby came and stayed with my wife and me, as did another couple from Thurso.”
The three-storey premises did not have a lift, which caused problems for the wheelchair users.
Mr Young said they left at 2am to catch the 5am flight, which arrived in Inverness two hours later.
“I think all of us were absolutely exhausted,” he said.
“My wife was also feeling very unwell after she had to miss a day of medication for her heart complaint.”
An extra sting in the tail was the additional £11 the couple had to fork out in car parking charges as a result of the delay.
Mr Young has complained to Tui about the lack of communication at the airport and the treatment of passengers after the scheduled flight was cancelled.
He said: “It really was a huge downer on what had been an absolutely brilliant holiday.”
‘We know delays are frustrating’
Tour operator TUI has apologised to all those impacted by the delays – but insisted passengers had been kept up to date by text message throughout the day.
A spokeswoman said: “We’re really sorry to customers travelling on flight AP5477 from Palma to Inverness on Friday, July 8 which was unfortunately delayed due to a technical issue.
“We kept customers updated via text messages throughout the delay and also provided overnight accommodation, meals and refreshments as needed.
“Customers are entitled to compensation under EU Regulation 261 and details of how to claim have been provided.”
The spokeswoman added: “We understand delays are frustrating and we can reassure customers that we’re doing everything we can to get them away on their holidays as planned.
“Passengers who travelled on AP5477 will receive an extra gesture of goodwill from Tui for the inconvenience.”
AlbaStar added: “”We wish to offer you our sincerest apologies for any inconvenience caused by the operational change that occurred with your flight.
“We have already taken actions to investigate into the event and to verify the facts to ensure a proper complaint handling under EU 261/2004 regulation.”
Passengers have been told they will be contacted by the airline within six weeks.
Conversation