Kids from the Ulster Project were forced to endure a 36 hour journey home to Derry from Boston last week after their flight was cancelled at the last minute.
The Ulster Project was formed at the height of the Troubles in 1975 to work with teenagers in Northern Ireland and the United States. It aims to educate and develop them as leaders to effect change in their communities.
Each year, youngsters from Derry travel to Greenville in North Carolina and Oak Ridge and Knoxville in Tennessee. This year, those travelling home from Greenville had their return journey from Boston on July 19 cancelled, resulting in them sleeping on the floor of the airport.
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The group, which consisted of four 15-year-olds and two leaders, travelled two hours from Greenville to Raleigh-Durham International Airport to be told they couldn't check in their luggage due to their onward flight not being in Boston.
When they arrived in Boston, the group went to the Aer Lingus courtesy desk where they were given a letter apologising for flight disruption. However, due to issues securing accommodation, the group ended up sleeping on the floor of the airport until the desk reopened at 5am.
Ulster Project Co-Ordinator, Irene Hewitt, was trying her best to help from home in Derry. She said: "We're here in Northern Ireland phoning around all the hotels near the airport in Boston trying to get them accommodation, and not knowing how long they're going to need it for.
"We knew the Aer Lingus desk wasn't reopening until 5am again, and at this stage it was 9.30pm. Everybody seemed to be in the same boat, the first hotel we looked at the room was $350 and they had two rooms for us. By the time we were entering the card details, one room went and the other had gone up to a premium price of $960.
"Our hands were tied, we were trying to do what we could from Northern Ireland to get them sorted. The video of our team sleeping on the floor of the airport was a hard pill to swallow. At 3am, our Greenville team were still trying to get them a hotel."
When the Aer Lingus desk reopened at 5am, the group were given details of another flight to Dublin which would leave that day at 11.10am and each member was given a $10 food voucher. However, their flight home was delayed until 2.45pm and there were further delays on arrival in Dublin.
Irene said they have attempted to make contact with the airline a few times in the past week but have had no response or acknowledgement.
"They started their journey on July 19 after lunch, and didn't get into Dublin at 1:30am on the 21st," she added.
"Believe it or not, when they got to Dublin they had no ground crew to even put the steps up to the plane so everyone had to wait. That day I sent an email to Aer Lingus but I haven't even had an acknowledgement.
"I can appreciate these things happen with the way things are with flights at the minute, but when you book and pay for one of the best airlines in the country, you expect the best and their service wasn't the best.
"Almost a week on, we still haven't heard anything from Aer Lingus. There were three numbers on the sheet they gave them - one for the UK, one for North America, and one for Ireland. But when we tried to ring the numbers, we either couldn't get through or the number was unattainable.
"It was an unpleasant experience for them. It beggars belief in this day and age; we didn't book with a Mickey Mouse airline. Everyone knows things are going wrong at the minute, but it's how they deal with things."
A spokesperson for Aer Lingus said: "We’re sorry to learn of the group’s travel experience travel with Aer Lingus.
"As a result of crew sickness, the original flight the group was due to travel on, Aer Lingus flight EI132 operating from Boston to Dublin Airport on July 19th, was cancelled at short notice and impacted customers were rebooked to travel the following day. In instances like this we seek to provide hotel accommodation where required, however on this occasion hotel availability was extremely limited.
"Regrettably, due to operational reasons the rescheduled flight the following day was delayed by 3 hours 45 mins. Customers were provided with meal vouchers and informed of their rights which are protected under EU261regulations. Information on how to submit claims for reimbursement is available on aerlingus.com.
"On this occasion, our Customer Relations team has reached out to the group directly to handle their query."
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