A family travelling to Turkey for a wedding are keeping their fingers crossed they'll get there in time after their flight was delayed by more than 50 HOURS. Kirsty and Rob Gore and their three kids were due to fly from Manchester Airport to Dalaman at 6.10am on Friday morning.
But after a series of delays that saw them stuck in the airport for 15 hours, included sitting on a grounded plane on the runway for two and half hours, they were finally told their flight had been cancelled. But the next available jet is not due to depart until 10.30am on Sunday.
The family, from Runcorn, had spent £6,500 on an eight night all-inclusive Tui package holiday in Fethiye, for Kirsty's sister's wedding. Now they've been put up in a city centre hotel and face a anxious wait to see if they get to Turkey in time for the ceremony on Monday afternoon. Tui have apologised for the cancellation and say they have offered full refunds to all affected passengers
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Kirsty, 35, said: "It's been horrendous. We got to the airport at 3am on Friday and spent more than 12 hours sat there and two and half hours sat on the plane.
"All my family are in Turkey for my sister's wedding and we just hope we get there in time. My husband has cancer and this is the first family holiday we've had since he got diagnosed. It's been an emotional rollercoaster.
"We've been treated like cattle. The only people who have told us the truth have been the pilot and the staff on the plane. There was no-one from Tui in the airport to explain what was going on. We didn't speak to anyone from Tui until 3pm.
"We took time off work, the kids had the day off school and the whole thing has just been absolutely shocking."
As the Manchester Evening News reported dozens of flights from Manchester Airport were delayed on Friday as holidaymakers embarked on the big half-term getaway.
A Tui spokesperson said: "We would like to apologise for the inconvenience to our customers on flight TOM822 from Manchester to Dalaman on Friday 27 May who were impacted by a flight delay due to various operational challenges.
"We contacted customers as soon as we were made aware of the change and they were offered overnight accommodation, meals and refreshments while we worked through a new flight plan. Customers have now been given a new flight departure time and have the option to either amend or cancel their holiday and receive a full refund within 14 days.
"We always do everything we can to limit any flight delays, which can happen from time to time for various operational reasons. On the rare occasion flight delays do take place, we will do everything we can to support our customers. We thank them for their patience and understanding at this time."
