A group of Welsh holidaymakers suffered a nightmare return when their easyJet flight was diverted to another airport because they were told it might run out of fuel while waiting for a slot to land at Gatwick. The flight from the Greek island of Santorini on Sunday was diverted to Luton Airport instead.
But when the group got off the plane at Luton, passengers, including families without buggies or child car seats, were told their bags would be carried on to Gatwick for them.
Despite being told there would be coaches to take them there, they actually had to find their own way to Gatwick. And when they got there, their ordeal continued. They received a text from the airline saying they would not be able to pick up their bags at Gatwick after all and they would be sent to their home address instead.
Passenger Laurie Nathaniel, from Swansea, explained that once they landed in Luton they were stunned to be told their baggage would also be late due to limited baggage handlers, and they should head for Gatwick – and reclaim the money back.
The 33-year-old, who was returning from celebrating a family wedding on the island said: "We got home in the early hours of Monday morning. It is now early afternoon and our luggage still hasn't arrived after they said it would be sent here, and we have had no contact from easyJet.
'"The airline just doesn't sound like it knows what it is doing. My glasses and contact lenses were in too so I can't see anything – so I have had to miss work today. It's a shambles."
The first text message they received:
And the second:
EasyJet has been contacted for comment. It comes as major disruption has been reported at several airports over the weekend, with scenes at Bristol Airport described as being like a "zoo".
More than 10,000 flights are due to depart from UK airports between Thursday and Sunday, according to aviation data firm Cirium. That is a three-fold increase on the same period last year, when the UK's coronavirus travel restrictions remained in place.
But thousands of families have seen their half-term holidays disrupted as easyJet cancelled more than 200 flights to or from Gatwick over a 10-day period. Tui has also axed a number of flights. Some families even had their holiday to Egypt cancelled on Sunday as they arrived at Bristol Airport. One family ended up sobbing on the floor when their holiday was finally cancelled, but only after they had been told to travel hundreds of miles to another airport - you can read that story here.
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