A six-year-old boy lies asleep on a bag covered up in a coat on the cold floor of an airport terminal - a shocking image of yet another family holiday ruined this year. A furious mum has shared photographs of her two young sons trying to sleep at Gatwick Airport after flight delays caused chaos and heartache for dozens of families.
Angry holidaymakers have vented their anger at easyJet - revealing they had to abandon their holidays to Spain after two flights were cancelled. Many of them, including young children, were forced to sleep on the floor at Gatwick overnight with no food and water, said one passenger.
And a mum from Rochdale, who was hoping to jet away to the sun in Tenerife with her 10-year-old son, but was caught up in the same holiday nightmare, told the Manchester Evening News : "It was just awful - your absolute worst experience."
Nicola Booth, 32, who also eventually had to give up her holiday with her partner Ant and sons Louie, six and 13-year-old Jake, who are pictured on the airport floor, added: "It was crazy. I was heartbroken watching my children sleep on the floor as easyJet were nowhere to be found."
Nicola, from Astley, near Wigan, said a group of around 18 stranded passengers, including children, 'banded together' and 'set up a camp' at Gatwick to support each other as they tried in vain to contact the airline through an app.
More than 48 hours after the initial flight was due to leave, many simply gave up, revealing easyJet paid for taxis to take them back to Manchester Airport. They are all now out of pocket until refunds are provided.
Their experiences represent yet another tale of woe for holidaymakers trying to get away but being thwarted by cancellations and chaos at airports as the busy summer season approaches.
The initial flight concerned - EZY1903 - was due to depart from Manchester Airport for Tenerife South at 5.10pm on Monday. Another passenger, a mum with her young son, said passengers boarded, but were sat on the plane on the tarmac for TWO hours before the flight was cancelled.
"We were all stuck there only to be then told that the crew had gone over their hours and the flight was cancelled," she said. Holidaymakers, said the passenger, were then forced to reclaim their bags and go home.
Then, at 6am on Tuesday morning, they received an email from easyJet telling them to return to Manchester by 10.30am for a coach down to Gatwick. "That did not leave until noon," said the passenger. "We were all waiting outside in the cold and the rain - it was absolutely freezing. It was an awful experience.
"We finally got to Gatwick to fly at 7.20pm. We all got to the gate and they said there was a technical problem. Ten minutes later they said the flight was cancelled. We then had to get our bags back again. All the easyJet staff just disappeared. The shops were shutting at Gatwick and we had no food or water."
Holidaymakers, she said, were then booked on flights at around 7.25am on Wednesday and 12.50pm on Wednesday, but no seats were allocated and the flight was over-booked.
Nicola, who shared images of her sons trying to sleep on the floor at Gatwick, saying she wanted easyJet to see them, said: "It has just been horrendous and there has been nothing from easyJet to help us.
"We were only going for a week and there was just no point in the end. We paid around £2,000 and we have re-booked with a different airline as we wait for a refund. We just wanted to take the kids away - they were so excited. Because we were all on a package holiday, it wasn't just the flight.
"There were 18 of us altogether and we stuck together helping each other. We were constantly ringing easyJet but there was no answer. We set up a camp together at Gatwick and the kids tried to get some sleep. We didn't sleep, we just had to stay up, watch the children and try and get what information we could.
"We got an update on the app saying that there was a flight at 12.50pm on the Wednesday so we had no choice but to sleep at the airport as there were no hotels available and easyJet weren't telling us anything. We didn't even get any food vouchers.
"Then, at 4am in the morning, we were told that the 12.50pm had been delayed for three hours. We just thought enough is enough. At 5am in the morning easyJet sent a lot of taxis and we were all taken back to Manchester Airport. It was a farce and a horrible experience.
"I will never fly with them again and the children were very upset not to be able to go on holiday after being excited for such a long time. It's just not on and something needs to change."
The Manchester Evening News has contacted easyJet for comment.
