Holidaymakers ready head home from Turkey ended up sleeping on the airport floor as their flight to Glasgow was cancelled last-minute.
The TUI flight was due to leave Antalya airport at 10.40pm on Tuesday, with passengers firstly being told the gate had changed but after moving, those at the front of the queue were told the flight was instead cancelled. After spending six hours waiting for an update, the exhausted passengers were finally told at 5.30am they were being moved to a hotel while the airline attempted to sort out their flights, the Daily Record reports.
On Wednesday, the group were brought back to the airport and told they would be split between flights to Doncaster, Manchester and Birmingham where they would then be put on buses to Scotland. Mum Janie Harlie, from Greenock, was caught up in the chaos.
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The 43-year-old said: "As a family we will never use TUI ever again.
"This was by far and away the most appalling customer service I have every experienced.
"Our holiday was fabulous - but our nightmare started on the way home. We got no assistance when we needed it most.
"The passengers rallied together to help each other as this was the only way we could communicate information. We were travelling with two parents in their seventies and a six-year-old.
"They spent hours sitting on the floor in arrivals and our boy Noah had to sleep on the floor. Parents used suitcases to allow their small children to sleep and no food or drink was offered from the airline.
"We got to the hotel at 6.30am this morning (Wednesday) after being in the airport from 8pm yesterday (Tuesday). It has been unbelievable."
The furious holidaymakers then waited two hours to collect their suitcases.
School business manager Janie added: "After we arrived back at the airport we met one family who had stayed all night in a cafe with kids aged nine, 10, 11 and 15. They had no information and were left at the airport.
"We called TUI several times on the help number and they did not help. At one point the rep who put us back at arrivals just left."
A TUI spokesperson said: "We fully understand the frustration from customers due to travel back from Antalya to Glasgow. Unfortunately, the aircraft required additional engineering inspections which took longer than expected, and it had to remain in Antalya overnight.
"To get customers home as quickly as possible, we arranged for them to travel on various flights into the UK on 26 July and provided transport back to Glasgow. Those who couldn’t be allocated flights on the same day were given a generous amount to spend on meals, transfers and overnight accommodation and they are booked to fly home today.
"All customers were sent direct text messages with all the required information and we’d like to thank them for their patience and understanding."
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