A woman has described how she had an epileptic seizure after last-minute staff strikes left hundreds of passengers stranded at an airport abroad. Helen Goulding was on a weeklong holiday with her husband, 11-year-old son and 13 year-old daughter in Paphos, Cyprus and had been due to fly home on Wednesday November 2.
But when the family, who live in Cardiff, arrived at the airport on Wednesday afternoon, several hours before their five-hour flight that evening, they discovered ground staff had announced a strike which saw more than 20 flights delayed and left hundreds of passengers stranded for hours.
Helen, 43, who booked their trip with TUI, had not had any issues during the holiday itself but said their problems began when their flight was delayed due to the strike. She said staff initially handed out bottles of water to the children but that there was little sign of any information on when the flight would take off.
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"We were out on the roadside on the pavement by the airport getting bitten by mosquitos," she explained, adding that the chaos caused by the strike meant the airport was "rammed". After the family stayed there for several hours and it started to get dark, they began asking for information on whether their flight would go ahead.
After "mixed messages" and whispers from others who were waiting Helen said all TUI customers were asked to go and wait by the coaches outside the airport. But she said even then there was little word of any movement.
"We went there and waited but weren't told anything - we were getting cold as the sun was gone and the kids were starting to fall asleep. The coaches were just being left running and the place was full of fumes, people were hanging around smoking.
"Jet2 customers nearby were put on coaches about four hours after we arrived at the airport and sent to hotels, but we weren't told anything." Helen claimed that not long after Jet2 passengers had departed TUI passengers, to their confusion, were told to go back inside and check in despite no confirmation that their flight was going ahead.
"The staff were running around, they told us we had to check in. We went back in and the airport was crammed with people. We wondered if they were just trying to get rid of us." Helen said the family refused to go through check-in as she suffers from epilepsy and was afraid that there would be no-one around to help at that hour if anything happened, and instead the family found a corner of the airport to wait in.
"We were trying to do anything to keep the kids occupied," she said. "I even took some of those queue barriers with the clips and rearranged them into a football pitch so my son and another boy could kick a ball around. We were making them into a maze for the kids to play in too."
But after hours waiting for an update passengers started to get frustrated. "We were going to the TUI staff that were there and asking them where to wait or what to do. One person was telling us one thing and someone else was telling us another. One person got quite angry at them saying we were being told different things and asking where he was supposed to stand."
It was only at 10pm - about six hours after they'd arrived in the airport - that the flight was finally cancelled and TUI started to look for hotels for the stranded passengers. By early morning Helen said the airport remained busy and that the situation had become "ridiculous.
"There were people asleep on the conveyor belts where they put the bags through when you check in. Our phones were going out of battery so we were having to use the laptops or unplug vending machines to plug them in.
"The kids were trying to sleep on the dirty floor, we were trying to make beds on top of the suitcases. There was no food or water offered, nothing. I told one of the TUI staff I needed water for my kids but they said I would have to speak to someone else as they only dealt with arrivals. There were young families left there and mothers breastfeeding their babies on the floor. It was just ridiculous."
At 5am - 14 hours after they first arrived - Helen had an epileptic seizure and her husband urgently alerted TUI staff. Within minutes she said the family were in a taxi to a hotel - coincidentally the same one they had stayed in on the holiday. "I get them two or three times a month. They're triggered by lack of sleep and stress and I get confused, disoriented and feel really sick and tired afterwards," she said.
After staying overnight the family were eventually brought to the airport the following day and arrived back in Cardiff later on Thursday. But Helen said she would never book a holiday with TUI again after what had happened.
"The messaging from them was absolutely appalling. We will make a complaint because there was no point in getting angry with the staff - you could see it was out of their control and they didn't have any power to make any decisions. The holiday cost us £2,200 and I would never book with TUI again. They're great when they're good but they've got no idea when it goes wrong."
A spokewoman for TUI said: "We’re very concerned to hear about Mrs Hampton’s experience and the health and safety of our customers is always our top priority. After our teams became aware of Ms Hampton’s experience, they offered to provide medical assistance, however this was declined.
"Unfortunately, due to a strike by external ground handling staff, we were forced to delay this flight overnight, but our teams kept everyone informed and we provided accommodation and refreshment vouchers. Whilst the situation was completely outside of our control and we did everything we could in this exceptional circumstance, we do appreciate how frustrating delays are and we’re sorry for the inconvenience caused.
"We can confirm the flight safely departed Paphos on November 3 and has arrived back in Cardiff, and we would like to thank customers for their patience and understanding."
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