A couple said they had to cancel their £4,000 honeymoon after their flights were changed to the middle of the night - with no warning.
Caroline Jasinski, 33, married her husband Alex Jasinski, 35, last year and the couple booked a trip to Turkey through TUI with their children for May. The parents said they paid an additional £500 on top of the £4,000 holiday for daytime flights to suit having young children.
But, just a month ahead of the holiday, farmers Caroline and Alex, from Grantham, Lincolnshire, noticed their return flight had been changed to 2am instead of the original 7pm. The couple said this would have left them and their youngsters stranded for 14 hours as they need to check out of their hotel room by 12pm.
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And, left facing a £480 charge for an extra night at the hotel, they opted to cancel the entire trip. The parents, who already had their wedding re-scheduled twice due to Covid, say their special holiday was turned into a "nightmare".
Caroline said: "It wasn't a cheap holiday but because it was our honeymoon we wanted something a little more special. We were in total shock when we saw the flights had been changed after we paid so much to ensure the flight times were right.
"The children aren't babies but making them travel in the middle of the night would be a nightmare and in the end we couldn't face it. We would have constantly been worrying about what to do and it would have spoiled the holiday.
"TUI weren't willing to do anything so we were backed into a corner and forced to cancel. We wanted to make sure it was a special trip after waiting so long, but that's not how it ended up."
Caroline and Alex booked the week-long holiday as a late honeymoon with their children following their delayed wedding in November last year. They said they booked in January of this year and they paid an additional £500 to add to the £4,000 holiday to book flights in the daytime or evening to suit children Alexia, seven, and Louie, five.
Originally the family were due to fly out from Doncaster airport at 2.30pm on May 26, and fly back from Antalya at 9.45pm a week later. It would even be son Louie's first time abroad - but it was not to be.
Just two weeks ago, when Alexia was playing on Caroline's phone, she happened to open the TUI app by mistake - and when Caroline glanced over, she was shocked. The flight times had changed completely, the mum claims, despite the parents shelling out for their preferred timings.
The horrified parents - who claim they were not told about the change - realised the new timings meant their return flight had been shifted so they wouldn't be departing until 2am.
Caroline said: "We were in total shock when we saw the flights had been changed. We paid more to ensure good flight times and they changed it without even notifying us. The children aren't babies - they could understand staying up until 9pm. But travelling at 2am would be a nightmare.
"Flying at 2am would also leave us with 14 hours of doing nothing with no room or food."
The shocked parents got in touch with TUI but allege the company was "unwilling to do anything and weren't interested in the slightest."
Caroline said they contacted the hotel who said they would be able to have the room for an extra night - for an additional £480. But she said, after contacting TUI, the company weren't willing to give any extra allowances to cover the costs.
In the end, the disappointed newlyweds said they felt they had no option but to cancel their entire honeymoon - because the antisocial flight times would have "spoiled the holiday."
Caroline said: "We couldn't afford to pay an extra night in the hotel and if we kept the 2am flight, we'd be constantly thinking and worrying about it. We didn't want that, especially when we paid quite a lot to make sure it was special after waiting so long."
They have now cancelled the holiday and been refunded in full - although Caroline is disappointed and feels it shouldn't have ended that way.
She said: "TUI weren't willing to help so we were backed into a corner and left with no choice. I understand flights do change but you can't expect to move flights to the middle of the night and not help people out."
A TUI spokesperson said: "We’re very sorry the family were affected by a timing change on their honeymoon and understand how disappointing this must have been.
"We have been in continued contact with the customer and are pleased this has now been resolved, with the customer being refunded in full."
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