Vacationers headed to Crete via TUI are bashing the tours company over a travel nightmare that at Exeter Airport. The travelers were left stranded and virtually abandoned with a 20 hour delay TUI says was caused by ‘technical and operational issues’.
The travelers told reporters that TUI not only stranded them, but that the airline failed to communicate, and that children and the elderly were even left with little or no food.
According to the reports, TUI also failed to provide vital flight information until too late, which meant that some vactioners believed they had missed their new flight time.
TUI confirmed flights to and from Heraklion in Crete and Rhodes were impacted, along with a flight to Palma. The Greece flight from Exeter Airport was due to leave shortly after 3pm on Tuesday (May 24).
Passengers were advised the flight was delayed, at first by half an hour and the time then continued to increase. By 6.30pm, passengers unable to return home were advised they would be taken by bus to available hotels.
ITV reported that a text was then sent by TUI at 10.45pm advising passengers staying in hotels that they would be collected at 3am for a 6.30am flight on Wednesday (25 May). Unfortunately, on arrival back at Exeter Airport, the delays continued and the flight eventually took off at 10.45am.
The fliers praised staff at Exeter Airport, but said that there was never a TUI representative available to help them. TUI issued an apology, or “apologies” in the last weeks over a rash of tourism bad dreams from food poisoning fines, ruined weddings, baggage dumps, and horrendous delay stories.
TUI AG stocks are at their second lowest point this year. Zacks has upgraded the stock to “Hold” as of yesterday.