Two hundred people were stuck at an airport in Spain after an apparent baggage handler gaffe. The passengers boarded the Sunwing flight on Tuesday at 10am from Reus to Cardiff, but they were then told the flight couldn’t take off due to a problem with the plane.
Louise Llewellyn, from Porth, who was in Reus with her son, parents and cousins, said they were then directed to a nearby hotel and told to return the next morning by Tui reps after their seven-day all-inclusive holiday. But after returning to the airport the next day and going through the rigmarole of reboarding the same plane, the exasperated passengers were again told to get off the aircraft.
“There must be at least 200 of us here still waiting,” Louise told WalesOnline on Wednesday evening. She is now finally home after the ordeal. “On Tuesday we kept being delayed every 30 minutes, and then we were told there was a small clip under the plane that wouldn’t close.
READ MORE: TUI holidaymakers delayed more than 40 hours at Cardiff Airport in chaotic scenes
“It then emerged that a baggage handler had thrown a bag up and had damaged part of the plane. We were sent to a hotel on Tuesday night and came back on Wednesday, but then we were told to get off the plane again, and we were sitting in departures [until the evening].
“There are families here that haven’t got any money left. They told us the hotel would be free but it hasn’t been. We still have to pay for things like food and drinks and many don’t have money to spend. We were given an extra 15 euros [on Wednesday afternoon].”
The issue was eventually solved and the plane landed in Cardiff on Wednesday night. Louise says passengers felt “extremely frustrated” over a “lack of updates on the situation”.
On Wednesday she said: “We are so frustrated, there are disabled people here who need medication they’ve run out of, there are mothers crying because they need things for their babies. It’s terrible.
“I work and have already missed two days. My dog is boarding with someone so this is obviously affecting them too.
“My son is missing school. And we also have tickets for Ed Sheeran in Cardiff which we’re really hoping to be back for. We’re just praying it’ll be sorted and we’re back in time.”
A spokeswoman for Tui said: "We’d like to apologise to customers travelling on flight TOM6209 from Catalonia to Cardiff which was unable to depart as planned on Tuesday May 24 due to operational issues. All impacted customers were offered overnight accommodation while we worked through a new flight plan.
"We have been in regular contact with customers, and advised them of their new departure time as soon as we could. The flight departed for Cardiff at 19:33 BST on Wednesday May 25.
"Customers on this flight are entitled to compensation in line with regulations and we have proactively sent them information on how to submit a claim. We appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding and we are sorry for any inconvenience caused."
Sunwing has also been contacted for comment.
