A woman has been left £2,000 in debt to her dad after he stepped in to save their holiday away.
Sam Thorley-Benn, her partner and two kids spent 14 hours at Gatwick Airport after Wizz Air cancelled their flight at the last moment.
After many tearful hours trying to work out what to do, Sam's dad stepped in to buy them British Airways tickets so they could join other family members out in Faro, Portugal, costing £500 a ticket.
Almost two months later they've heard nothing back from Wizz Air about compensation for the massive delay, despite aviation rules suggesting they should be owed £1,700.
Now Sam and her partner are in the difficult position of owing her dad money they can ill afford as the cost of living crisis continues to bite.
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"I made a claim to Wizz Air in August regarding the refund on our flights as they tried to give us vouchers back," Sam told The Mirror.
"Which is insane. Who an earth would want to fly again with them after that horrific experience?
"I also had to make a separate claim for our compensation money, still nothing. We are now on day 47 of hearing absolutely nothing from Wizz Air.
"I'm absolutely disgusted that an airline can cancel your flight whilst at the airport but also doesn't give you any correspondence regarding the incident."
Sam and her family turned up at Gatwick early in the morning of July 31, wary that they'd be caught up in airport chaos as many holidaymakers were this summer.
After queueing for an hour and a half to check-in, they ran to their gate thinking they might be late.
Instead the parents and two kids, aged two and four, waited half an hour before being told there was a four hour delay, the 31-year-old claimed.
"Our children had been awake since 2:30am, it is now 7am," the mum alleged. "They both slept on chairs around Gatwick. We then received a message from Wizz Air with food vouchers, which we thought 'great at least it's something.'
"We then opened them and find it was £4.50 per person which we could only spend in one restaurant. This didn't even cover the cost of the children's meals."
At 11am they went to their gate to discover that the flight was cancelled, she added.
"The Gatwick staff told us our flight was cancelled and we would have to use the app or contact Wizz Air to rearrange an alternative flight," she said.
"Children and adults were crying, it was awful. Anyone who had purchased duty free had to return it before they could leave the airport."
Sam says she is "very lucky" that her dad was able to afford the last minute tickets to save their holiday - something "not many families could do, we certainly couldn't without his help."
Over the past two months Sam has become increasingly worried about paying her dad back, and frustrated that Wizz Air have not responded to her compensation requests.
"I really want the government to start stepping up and making airlines accountable," she said. "Why should we pay extortionate amounts to go on holiday in the Summer holidays and have to fight to get our money back? It’s ridiculous."
Sam is also wary of calling the Wizz Air helpline, as it costs £1.75 a minute.
According to Flight Right, passengers whose flights are cancelled are owed £350 if the trip was between 1,500km and 3,500km.
Wizz Air has been contacted for comment.
