Stranded easyJet passengers ‘given blankets to sleep on airport floor’

EasyJet passengers reportedly slept on the floor of Gatwick Airport after their flight was cancelled due to IT issues and they were not offered a hotel. After a flight from Corfu to Belfast was grounded, customers were rerouted via Gatwick where stranded passengers were reportedly told they would need to sort their own way home on Thursday night (May 26).

Sales executive Leah Wortley, 30, from Portadown was among a group of flyers handed blankets by a Gatwick Airport staff member after being left at the airport with “not a sinner about”. Blasting easyJet’s communication, Leah told MyLondon : “It was madness, there was absolutely nobody to give us any information. My sister was on hold to easyJet for an hour then she got through to someone who said ‘go through the app’.”

After being told the best way back from Corfu was a flight to Gatwick, about 40 passengers landed in England around 1am on Friday morning. Shortly after the hostess told them there was no connection flight and advised they book a hotel themselves, Leah says. With all the hotels booked the customers went to the departure lounge where they were handed blankets and had to buy their own food and water.

READ MORE : Gatwick Airport live: ‘Chaos’ as passengers face 90-minute queues for check-in at start of hal f term getaway

With all the flights booked out the next day, staff from Gatwick advised flying from another airport. Leah revealed the cab to Heathrow cost £220, plus another £220 each for a flight to Dublin where they still had another two hours to drive back to Belfast. She revealed “there were some young couples who didn’t have the money” to pay for it, and there were still people waiting in Corfu for a flight scheduled for next Thursday (June 2)

Leah, who says she was awake for a total of 30 hours, added: “I can’t imagine flying with easyJet again. It was a brilliant holiday and that just spoiled it. It cost us more to get home than the whole holiday cost. They have not given me a penny of money back yet.”

The delayed journey meant she also lost a day’s work which she doesn’t expect to get any compensation for. EasyJet said they are “looking into why some customers remained in the terminal”. The airline also said they would be reimbursing travellers for hotel costs after people were forced to book their own rooms for the night.

There were also complaints from those who avoided the reroute but were forced to find another way to get home. Mum Katy Doolan said on Twitter: “Honestly the customer service (or total lack of) that easyJet have provided over our cancelled flight is a disgrace. Have just forked our flights from Corfu-Glasgow-Belfast with a 2-year-old in tow.”

In a statement, easyJet said: “Unfortunately, we experienced IT systems issues [on Thursday] and while this was rectified later that afternoon, some flights across the network were cancelled as a result, including EZY6788 flight from Corfu to Belfast. We were able to provide some customers with rerouting via London Gatwick to connect to onward flights to Belfast [on Friday] morning.

“We advise customers that hotel accommodation expenses will be reimbursed and so we are looking into why some customers remained in the terminal at London Gatwick. We are very sorry for the inconvenience these cancellations will have caused and we are reaching out to these customers to apologise for their experience and ensure they are reimbursed for expenses incurred as a result of the cancellation.”

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