A COUPLE are fuming after TUI cancelled their £4,000 holiday by text as they queued at the departure gate.
Steven Hession was standing in line to board a flight to the Greek island of Kos with his wife Kerrie and their two children – only to receive an eleventh hour message to say they would no longer be going.
The family arrived at Manchester Airport in plenty of time on May 28 and were met with long delays and queues stretching from one terminal to another.
After hours of chaos they finally got to the gate, but minutes later, Kerrie received a text informing her their flight and two-week trip had been axed due to "significant operation disruption".
TUI apologised for the inconvenience and offered compensation and a refund voucher – but the Hessions were still devastated.
Steven, 45, told MEN: " We were flying over to Kos along with around 40 other people because my wife’s brother is due to get married.
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"It was horrendous. Even on arrival to check in at Terminal 2, the queues were stretching right back to Terminal 1.
"After many hours of delays, we were at the boarding gate just after 7pm and there was no staff there.
"But then we saw the cabin crew walking through to the plane, which made us feel reassured.
"However, then we heard people crying and everyone got this text at the same time saying, 'unfortunately, your holiday has been cancelled, click this link to get a refund within 14 days."
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The dad-of-two, from Blackburn, Lancashire, claims no one from the airline spoke to the disgruntled passengers to explain any further.
And their nightmare experience was then made even worse as they were stranded for a further few hours before being escorted out by police.
Steven, who works for British Gas, said: "We were stranded at the arrivals as they could not bring us back through, and they could not let us go through departures because we had not left, so they had to escort us out."
Eventually they were walked back through security and faced chaotic scenes trying to retrieve their luggage.
"When we got to the barrage carousel, there was no one there and we didn’t know where our luggage was," Steven said.
"Then they said the bags would come out at number eight, and it turned out to be number two, so everyone ran across the airport.
"You could see people’s luggage left from the night before – it was a guessing game as to the flights, and the cases."
'IT WAS HORRENDOUS'
The family arrived home almost 13 hours after they left for the airport that morning.
The bride and groom managed to fly out to Kos the following day, and Steven secured spots on a new flight in time for the wedding – though at a considerable extra cost.
And while relieved they will make it, he could face losing his £4,000 refund as almost all of the hotels are booked up with families away for half-term.
Steven said: "Now that we have got the flights, it’s a gamble because our hotel is full as it’s half term.
"The TUI representative is telling people that if they turn up, that means your holiday’s valid so you might not get a refund.
"It could work out at another three or four grand."
A spokesperson for TUI said: "We would like to apologise to some of our customers who have experienced flight delays in recent days.
"The May half-term holidays are always an incredibly busy period with many customers looking to get away, and this year is no different.
"While flight delays and cancellations with us are rare, unfortunately the sudden increase in people going on holidays combined with various operational and supply chain issues, has meant that a small number of our flights have been impacted.
"Our teams have been working tirelessly to support affected customers, through direct communications and providing overnight accommodation and transfers where needed, as well as meals and refreshments."
A Manchester Airport spokesperson added: "We are aware of challenges being faced by a number of airlines and handling agents, which is leading to delays at check-in and baggage reclaim for some passengers.
"Airlines and their ground handlers are responsible for their own check-in and baggage handling services.
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"Passengers are advised to direct any questions or concerns about these issues, or anything relating to their flight, to their airline, who will be best placed to respond.
“However, this is not the experience we want passengers to have at Manchester Airport and we are sorry to hear customers have faced disruption."
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