If you thought T5 was a cockup, I think I can beat it. If you shuddered when
you read our correspondent’s account of being trapped in a plane on the
Heathrow runway for two whole hours, pah, that’s nothing: try seven.
Yes, seven. Last Sunday, 130 passengers, including pre-school-age children,
were trapped in a packed EasyJet plane on the tarmac at Gatwick for seven
squalid, cramped, noisy, bewildered, hungry hours. I was one of them and,
believe me, it wasn’t pretty.
It got worse – or, in airport-hell oneupmanship stakes, better. For the first
five hours, they refused to feed us. When they finally relented, in the face
of clearly distressed children, they charged for the food. The coup de
grâce? The airline eventually cancelled the flight and let us
off... and then managed to lose our luggage.
The debacle started when the 8.10am flight to Geneva was caught up in
disruption caused by snow. A shortage of deicing trucks led to the delay –
something the airline and the airport now blame on each other. Whatever the
truth, the way EasyJet treated its customers was the worst I’ve seen in
decades of flying.
The hours dragged by, the heat was intense, and concerned parents stripped
children to their underwear. The kids themselves were remarkably well
behaved – until about the four-hour mark. Little did we know there were
three more to go.
Questioned by indignant passenger Tim Creasey about charging for food, the
captain of the plane said he had asked his office for permission to supply
free food – and had been turned down. “It’s a company decision, and I don’t
agree with it either,” he told Creasey. “But there’s nothing I can do. I am
French and, believe me, in your situation, I would be much more angry than
you are.”
When I called from my seat to ask EasyJet’s head office to discuss the
situation, initially, it refused to comment, claiming I should not be using
a mobile phone on the tarmac. “You’re putting your fellow passengers in
danger,” I was told.
However, they then repeatedly phoned me back, knowing I was on the plane, to
assure me that food costs would be reimbursed and food vouchers supplied
when we were let off the aircraft. Neither promise materialised.
The flight was eventually cancelled, and exhausted passengers were allowed to
disembark at about 3pm. We were instructed to pass through to the arrivals
hall, where our bags would be waiting.
They weren’t. No further announcements were made, staff had no information,
and passengers were left to a forlorn search for their bags. I was
eventually reunited with mine three hours later, after a chance encounter
with an informed EasyJet staffer. I was lucky: dozens of bags were still
unclaimed.
Passengers were livid after their 10-hour ordeal. “We were treated terribly,”
said Rupert Langmead, from West Sussex, who was travelling with his three
daughters. “The last straw for me was coming out of the plane and being told
to rebook new flights on the internet because the desk at the airport was
too busy. I drove to France in the end.”
We put this catalogue of incompetence and shabby treatment to the airline. In
a detailed response, it blamed the delay on suppliers and a lack of air
bridges, and the luggage debacle on overloaded carousels. It conceded,
though, that not feeding passengers was “unacceptable”. “EasyJet holds up
its hands. The level of service some of our passengers received was not
acceptable, and we profusely apologise for the inconvenience caused.”
— Have you had a worse time? Tell us, and name the guilty airline, at timesonline.co.uk/yoursay
August 2007. JFK; 1st flight - noon(Delta) cancelled. Then 82 flights in front of us waiting to take off, a spectacular summer storm, ran out of fuel on the taxiway, had to return to refuel. Eventually arrived in Portland, Maine at 0300, discovered my bag missing, suit inside for sister's wedding.
John Gartland, Bettystown, Ireland
Feel sorry for the staff, cheapo airlines such as ryan air and easyjet only pay the cabin crew when flying so they put up with all of this for nothing
sally, bristol,
15th March 2008
26 Hours delayed at Grenoble due to a technical fault.
These things happen but when you get the tour operator (Ski Beat) & airline (First Choice) going out of their way to blame each other + as a result having to beg for a bed for the night made the whole thing a shambles
To make things worse, in correspondence since returning the only thing Skibeat have done is either say they 'knew nothing about this at the time' or worse still 'no one else has complained'.
In addition we also believe that these 2 parties have colluded to avoid “EU Regulation 261/2004" by using the same flight number the day after so they don't have to pay out compensation for a cancelled flight ( even though at the time the airport rep confirmed that the flight had been cancelled
Unfortunately the customer is not always right when dealing with Ski Beat & First Choice
DL Olney
David Lummas, Olney, Bucks
Handling agent for easyJet at Gatwick is Menzies. They are responsible for everything what goes on in Gatwick, not BAA. Short staffed ticket desks? Couldn't find your luggage? Ask Menzies!
Wikstroem, London, England
Sunday 6th April seems to have been a bad day for Easyjet and in particular for the 130 passengers stranded at Gatwick (your story 'stuck on the runway with Easyjet'). It was also a bad day for the planeful of us expecting to fly from Schiphol to Liverpool on Easyjet flight 7010 at 1745 on the same day. We arrived to find that the flight had been cancelled - a rumour said that the weather was to blame but it was not clear where the bad weather was! Certainly Liverpool Airport appears to have operated normally on that Sunday.
Many of us accepted a return flight to Luton the following day with the promise of a transfer bus to Liverpool and though the flight materialised the transfer bus certainly didn't. We were met, at the Easyjet desk, with expressions of incredulity that such an offer had been made and there was strong impression given that we must have imagined it! Some headed for the public transport desks, some, like us, to hire a car.
My wife and I are about £200 out of pocket - an extra night's accommodation in Amsterdam, an additional return trip to & from Amsterdam Central, a hire car and a meal or two, but the real losers were those who missed a day or two's pay because Easyjet couldn't get them back to Liverpool until Tuesday at the earliest.
Whether we shall be reimbursed for our out-of-pocket expenditure remains to be seen!
We were either lied to at Schiphol re the provision of a bus to make it appear an attractive way home, or it was a case of the left hand not knowing what the right is doing. If the latter is the case let us all hope that Easyjet's maintenance department doesn't suffer from the same malady!
John Fairbrother, Bury, Lancs
My wife, children and I were also on the Easyjet flight that sat on the tarmac for 7 hours at Gatwick (Stephen Bleach's report) and we too had to chase our bags around the airport for three hours thereafter. We then had to queue up and re-book flights. Cutting a long story short, we left the airport 12 hours after we had arrived, got a train to Luton before staying in a Hotel (at our own expense) and then flying out to Geneva the following lunchtime.
One week later we're back to Geneva airport on Sunday (two days ago). It couldn't happen again. Arrived at 1pm for a 2.55pm Easyjet flight. At 7.45pm we finally boarded. There had been no explanation. Then the fun started. Some passengers hadn't boarded. Let's have a head count. Sorry, now we have too many passengers. After 8 head counts they gave up, closed the doors and we took off ..at 10pm. That was another 9 hours in an airport and not once, during either episode, did anyone actually say sorry. Not very easy jet.
Nick Searl, Wivelsfield, East Sussex
My wife and I were going to Berlin from Gatwick by Easyjet that morining. We had a two hour delay in the terminal followed by 4.5 hours waiting on the plane. The German Easyjet pilot gave us a blow-by-blow commentary of the (dis)information he was receiving from Ground Control (BAA I presume). We were boarded as planes have to leave within 15-20 minutes of being de-iced and he was told he would be de-iced around 11.30 when in fact it was done shortly before 4.00pm! The crew were apologetic and curteous and eventually provided limited refreshments - more for those prepared to pay, but we were left in no doubt over the on-going frustrations all airlines have at UK airports. the Met Office gave plenty of warning about the snow. Why is it that our transport infrastructure has become the laughing stock of the world (but still amongst the most expensive)? I am in despair about our ability to host the Olympic Games.
Bill Webb, London, UK
I was on a flight from Nice to Gatwick on that same morning. We were held on the ground before departure for nearly two hours and then after landing at Gatwick waited a further hour for an arrival gate. At all the times the cockpit crew kept us fully up to date with announcement as to the progress.
For a budget airline, and considering that the delay was beyond their control, I thought the service was good. I have had worse from 'The World's Favourite' airline and much, much, worse from Iberia.
I'm not in any way disputing Stephen Bleach's account of his far more significant delay, but it indicates that it's often down to the crew how a problem is handled.
M Preston, Weybridge / Cape Town, GB / SA
was returning to London from Israel on a charter flight when there was a security alert. Someone had checked baggage, then did not board the plane. Unfortunately, just at that time, the baggage handlers went on strike, so volunteer passengers, including myself, had to unload all the baggage and link it up each piece with a passenger. Everyone took it in good humor and with British high spirits but I believe it is a bit much to expect the passengers to search for a bomb.
Dave Null, Claremont, CA, USA
We were returning from a Club Med holiday on the same Sunday and spent 9 hours at Geneva waiting for our First Choice Airways flight. Drinks vouchers were being issued to travellers on other flights, but we were deserted by Club Med and First Choice. No information was given out, and the departure gate kept changing, requiring a return to the main terminal and repeat security screening on at least 3 occasions. When approached, both Club Med and First Choice refused to give any vouchers and said it was: the weather, and the other company's responsibility.
Much of the delay was caused by problems with deicing equipment at Gatwick - this is surely a technical not a weather issue.
We were comparatively lucky, we weren't trapped in a plane for hours, as the passengers on our incoming flight also were, and we did reach our destination in the end.
Club Med advertises itself as a quality company and we had expected a better standard of service from them.
Frances, London,
We just wasted most of thursday trying to get back to the UK on XL.com airlines from Grenada via Tobago and onto Gatwick. Our flight was meant to leave at 14.45 we spent 7 hours waiting to be told our flight was cancelled due to leaky hydraulics which they initially claimed they could fix.
We were all stuck in an un air-conditioned lounge, there we babies and lots of children and many fractious people. They treated us all like cattle.
When pressed for answers the representative actually said that we should be greatful we were told about the fault with the plane they could have just let it take off. Staggering.
We came back a day late but just before the 24hour window where they have to refund your money.
We paid a £1000 a ticket there are four in our family. They were meant to be socalled business seats.
The same thing happened to a friend who spent the night at Gatwick.
Do not use XL.Com they are a shambles.
emma mathews, london, uk
Did any other aircraft have to wait 7 hours?
If so, how did they handle the situation?
Thank you for the tip on where and which not to fly when in the UK
Frank, Capreol, Canada
Good, you paid peanuts and got the monkey service you deserved.
wayne, huntingdon, cambridgeshire
Do you remember a few years ago now the day the air traffic control computers went down at Heathrow?I was on the runway sitting in my Cyprus Air aisle seat on the way to see my parents in Saudi Arabia. I was looking forward to a quick view of Cyprus before flying onto Bahrain. we waited for 3 hours, finally took off, but arrive in Larnaca having missed the connection. But all was fine, I was to fly to Beirut, be put up in a hotel and we would then fly to Dubai arriving in Bahrain 36 hours later. it was at the arrival in Beirut that the fun began, nobody to pick me up, and no reservation for me to be taken to a hotel. My overnight stop meant that i slept in the arrivals lounge, not the best place to sleep as everytime you wake up there are different people infront of you! changed my last £10 to get some food but there was nothing and got to dubai and they wouldnt accept the 50,000 lira i had to get my breakfast, so now hadnt eaten in 24 hrs either! nothing a bacon sarnie couldnt fix!
Nick, Bristol, UK
You always get what you pay for.Its a budget airline
Michael Hagan, London , England
23 hours on Alicante airport in 2003!
Airline blamed it on air traffic control over France but could have diverted over Belgium but if they did would have cost them more fuel.
As it was they did not even provide water for passengers, one of whom was a single woman with 3 children.
One airline rep handing out forms saying basically that there was no compensation and they didn't dive a damn. At the time there were 4 flights she was handing the forms out to.
No info so we had to stay at the airport.
The airline-you've guessed it-Easy Jet.
Tony Hunter, Southampton,