A mum has recalled scenes of absolute chaos onboard a TUI flight as a pilot announced that two trespassers were on the plane.
People onboard the plane were "crying and screaming" after it was announced the aircraft was carrying two people "who shouldn't be there". Lara Beasley said passengers went into "meltdown" with staff having to eventually remove the two people from the plane.
They were hauled off the flight but the announcement and fear of what could have been triggered an emotional response among passengers.
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Lara, 42, had just been on holiday in Cancun with her husband Neil, 43, and their one-year-old daughter Faith. They were flying from the Mexican resort to Manchester on June 23 when the terrifying incident happened, the Liverpool Echo reports. It caused the plane to be grounded for two hours with some passengers demanding to be let off.
She said: "The pilot confirmed that there were two passengers who should not have been on the flight. Everyone was going into meltdown. They did not take us off the aircraft, they left us there. The pilot tried to diffuse the situation and the cabin crew were trying to be professional.
“You could see the anguish in people’s faces. I didn’t go to sleep for the whole ten hour flight on the way home. It was a horrible feeling, [TUI] didn’t put customers at the heart of it. 'Going the extra smile' is meant to be their strapline."
Lara said she couldn't understand why staff at Cancun Airport did not check people's paperwork and is at a loss as to how they managed to get past check-in. The mum was already anxious about flying given the recent chaos in UK airport.
She used to work for TUI as a retail manager and has 14 years experience in the industry and she admitted she was disappointed by TUI's handling of the situation.
She said: "We had no option [to fly back], it’s not like we could jump in a taxi. The whole situation was so strange. I have travelled to hundreds of places and that was the worst experience I have ever had.”
The family's return flight was due to arrive at Manchester Airport at 8am but did not land until 1pm. They were delayed even further in the baggage hall as it took more than two hours to receive their luggage.
Cancun Airport did not respond to a request for comment, while a spokesman for TUI said: "We’re aware of this incident and we take incidents of this nature extremely seriously. Our crew worked quickly to offload the passengers and their bags so the flight could depart. We’d like to apologise to all customers onboard for the inconvenience, and we’re providing additional training to our ground handling agents to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
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