A South Shields couple’s milestone birthday getaway turned into a travel nightmare this week as they were left stranded at Newcastle International Airport for over five hours before their flight was cancelled.
Kerry Smith, 58, and her husband Michael were scheduled to fly with EasyJet to Dalaman, Türkiye, on Tuesday afternoon. The trip was intended as a special celebration for Michael’s 60th birthday. Instead of relaxing in their coastal apartment, the pair found themselves stuck in a cycle of confusion and uncertainty.
The ordeal began with the couple sitting stationary on the aircraft for two hours after boarding. Passengers were eventually ordered to disembark, leaving them in a state of limbo in the departures terminal for another three hours without clear communication from the airline.
“We felt as if we had been left behind, as there was nobody there from EasyJet when we were stuck in departures,” said Kerry. “It was so stressful. There were kids crying and people arguing. At the end of our hours-long ordeal, we were just reimbursed for our duty-free and escorted to collect our baggage.”
Beyond the frustration of the delay, the cancellation has had a significant knock-on effect on the couple’s plans, forcing them to miss a separate birthday event they had intended to attend while abroad. Seeking to salvage the trip, the couple has been forced to book flights with a different airline, leaving them roughly £400 out of pocket for non-refundable transfers and taxis.
“I went into work today as I didn’t know what to do; the whole situation has just left us a bit all over the place,” Kerry added. “I understand that the situation is beyond EasyJet’s control, but I think they could have dealt with it in a much better way. It felt as if EasyJet weren’t there for us.”
The cancellation of flight EZY5615 was one of over 2,000 flights disrupted across the country due to a widespread technical failure within the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) system.
In a statement addressing the incident, an EasyJet spokesperson said: “Due to the NATS Air Traffic Control system failure, which impacted all airlines’ operations on 8 September, flight EZY5615 from Newcastle to Dalaman was unable to operate. We did all we can to minimise the impact on our customers, providing those on the cancelled flight with options to rebook or receive a refund.”
The airline added that they are advising affected passengers on how to claim reimbursement for expenses incurred while making their own arrangements. While acknowledging that the technical fault was outside of their control, the spokesperson expressed regret for the “difficulty this will have caused” their customers.
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