Furious passengers say they have been left 'traumatised' after a last-minute flight cancellation left them stranded in Spain with no food, accommodation, or return flight - and claim they were given no assistance by Easyjet.
Travellers on the EZY2016 flight from Alicante to Manchester were made to turn around and go back through border control on Thursday evening (April 13) after Easyjet staff told them their flight couldn't run due to an incident on the incoming flight, which saw police meet the aircraft at the airport.
They told the Manchester Evening News they were promised assistance with food and accommodation, and 'guaranteed' a flight back to Manchester the next day (Friday). But many remain stranded in Spain, while others say they were forced to sleep in the airport or drive hours through the night to get on alternative flights, paying entirely out their own pockets.
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Easyjet said the cancellation was 'out of their control', but maintained that customers' costs will be reimbursed, and that travellers were offered the option of a transfer to an alternative flight free of charge, or a refund, as well as hotel accommodation and meals.
Dad-of-two Tony Fretwell, from Warrington, said he was forced to drive hours through the night to get his wife and children safely on a flight from Valencia, before he returned to Alicante to catch his own return flight.
He claimed passengers were initially told by pilots that there would be a hotel and bus arranged for them, and flights would be rearranged. But when he got through check-in, he claims Easyjet staff told them they had to rebook online.
"No help or anything," he added. "Children, babies, elderly just left. I heard most slept at the airport. The prices flew up too as everyone was on their phones looking. EasyJet refused to look for us and just told us to look over selves. The lack of care for the young and old was quite staggering.
"It was carnage and most information came in drips then rumours spread so no one had a clue what was correct or not. It became every person for themselves. Awful."
Tony estimates he has been left between £1,500 and £2,000 out of pocket due to the disruption. And while his family made it back, he is still stuck in Spain. The M.E.N understands that a number of passengers have still not been able to return to the UK.
Another passenger said the experience had been 'traumatic' as she and her family of six have been left 'stranded' until Tuesday. She claims she was given accommodation for just one night, and was not given any food vouchers.
Carole, from Accrington, claimed she had been forced to sleep on airport benches after being unable to fund her own accommodation for the night. She said she witnessed 'at least a dozen' passengers forced to sleep in the airport on Thursday night.
She eventually managed to board a flight to Leeds Bradford Airport on Friday afternoon, at over double the cost of her original flight. She said she had been forced to put the cost on a credit card, and said the experience made her 'want to cry'.
An Easyjet spokesperson said: “EasyJet can confirm that flight EZY2015 from Manchester to Alicante on 13 April was met by police on arrival due to a group of passengers behaving disruptively onboard and as a result the return flight to Manchester was unable to operate.
“The safety and wellbeing of our passengers and crew is always easyJet's priority. We take incidents of disruptive behaviour very seriously and do not tolerate abusive or threatening behaviour onboard and our cabin crew are trained to assess all situations and to act quickly and appropriately, to ensure that the safety of the flight and other passengers is not compromised at any time.
"While this was outside of our control, we are very sorry for the inconvenience this will have caused those due to travel on the return flight to Manchester. We provided customers with the option of a transfer to an alternative flight free of charge, or a refund, as well as hotel accommodation and meals for those customers who required them. Should customers have sourced their own flights, including with alternative airlines, accommodation and meals, or incurred other expenses, we will reimburse them."
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