Budget carrier Easyjet has apologised after a frustrated couple said their romantic weekend away for their wedding anniversary was “spoiled” by flight chaos, leading to an unexpected trip to Edinburgh.
Chris and Trisha Daines, from Essex, had enjoyed a lovely getaway to Amsterdam as they celebrated 33 years as a married couple, but they say the experience has been tainted after they ended up arriving home more than 24 hours later than originally scheduled.
Flight cancellations and delays ended with the couple saying they had to fork out more than £150 in additional expenses in order to keep themselves going as they desperately tried to get home.
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The pair arrived at Schiphol airport in the Dutch capital with plenty of time to spare, though were shocked when Chris received an alert on his phone announcing that their flight to London Stansted had been cancelled. According to Chris, they were unable to locate any easyJet staff who could explain why their journey had suddenly been called off.
They then say that there was a fierce scramble for seats on other flights but as those quickly filled up, their best option was to book onto the journey to Edinburgh the next day - which would then connect to Stanstead later that evening.
The airline offered accommodation to passengers who had been left without a way home on Sunday night but Chris claims that there was no available hotels via easyJet. Instead, he said customers were told to pay for their own room at a “reasonable” price which would be refunded. Unconvinced by the lack of clarity, the couple stayed overnight in the airport.
Retired banker Chris, 61, told Edinburgh Live: “It was a lovely weekend away for our anniversary that now feels like it’s been spoiled. It’s left a real sore taste. Whenever we look back on this trip, we’ll always have those memories of the pain of flying back.
“We arrived with loads of time just because we’re like that. We were meant to fly home at 6:55 when, out of nowhere, I get an alert on my phone saying the flight had been cancelled. We looked around for some staff, but we couldn’t find anyone connected our flight. There were no answers.
“There were 180 people all scrambling for seats back to the south of England, so we couldn’t get a flight back easily. We eventually found one that came via Edinburgh, and just booked onto it so we could get home.
“Next it was trying to get accommodation, but whenever I clicked on the link from easyJet it said they had no accommodation available. It said we could buy our own at a reasonable price, but what does that mean? We decided it’d be better to stay in the airport, but we didn’t get much sleep at all."
The couple eventually boarded their flight out of Amsterdam the next day - only to be faced with a lay-over in Edinburgh.
Chris added: “Edinburgh was actually one of the places we considered for our anniversary, we love the city. I’d rather have visited it properly instead of just being there for a few hours. It’s a shame, and I doubt we would have had all the travel bother there.
"Getting food in Edinburgh and Amsterdam, travelling around, it all cost us more than £150."
While easyJet has apologised to the couple for the inconvenience, they say the cancellation was outwith their control after thunderstorms in the area around London Stanstead.
A spokesman for easyJet told Edinburgh Live: “We are sorry that flight EJU7845 from Amsterdam to London Stansted on June 18 was unfortunately unable to operate due to air traffic control restrictions caused by thunderstorms, which meant the flight was unable to operate before the imposed curfew at the airport.
“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and while this was outside of our control we did all possible to minimise the impact of the disruption for our customers and provided them with their options which included a free transfer to an alternative flight or a refund. Customers also have the option to book with another carrier if suitable easyJet flights are not available.
“We also provided them with information about the reason for the cancellation and provided hotel accommodation however as this was in short supply we advised that should passengers have secured their own or any other expenses we will reimburse them.
"Whilst this was outside of our control we are sorry for the inconvenience this will have caused.”
