A family paid £1,720 for new flights back to Manchester Airport after an easyJet cancellation left them waiting for over eight hours.
Askir Ali, wife Sabrina Begum and their six-year-old child Sophia were left at Hurghada Airport in Egypt for over eight hours with no food or any explanation about why their flight was cancelled. After arriving at the airport at 5.30pm for their 10.05pm flight they were finally allowed through to the departure gates at 12.45am after purchasing new tickets.
Mr Ali said the family arrived only to see their flight cancelled with no explanation or alternative. He said he tried to contact easyJet on his phone but could not reach the relevant department and maxed out his phone bill to £250.
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Mr Ali, 36, said: "I made about 20 calls. I was passed from pillar to post - I spoke to about four people." After hours of waiting with a hungry, crying child and no prospect of another flight being offered he paid £1,750 for new tickets back to Manchester.
But the flight was not direct and the family had to change at Istanbul for a hour hour layover. Mr Ali said: "At Istanbul airport I got free WIFI for thirty minutes and I accessed an email from easyJet saying they would put us on a flight from Egypt but asking us to stay there for another two days."
Mr Ali told the Manchester Evening News he does not know why they were not flown out on another flight that day as there were alternative flights. The family landed in Manchester Airport at 1pm on June 9 when they should have got home at 3am.
Since returning Mr Ali claimed he has been given no explanation and asked to fill out a compensation form - with no guarantee he can recoup the money spent on the new flight ticket. He said: "The flight was a no show on their behalf not on my behalf. I paid for a flight and they had an obligation to get us home."
An easyJet spokesperson said: “We’re really sorry the Ali family’s holiday was impacted by flight disruption. In a fast-moving situation like this, it’s always our priority to get our customers rebooked onto new flights as soon as possible.
"We contacted these customers to let them know the details of their new flight and the hotel accommodation we had arranged for them until their new departure date. We’ve contacted the family to apologise and let them know how they can claim for out of pocket expenses and compensation.”
