Glasgow couple left stranded and thousands of pounds out of pocket by airline
AGLASGOW couple ’ s dream trip turned into a holiday from hell after an airline left them stranded abroad – and thousands of pounds out of pocket.
Carla Hossack and Charlie McKechnie were among scores of Scots stranded in Germany after their flight home was unexpectedly grounded by easyJet.
They faced a two- day journey that took them from Berlin to Paris and on to Edinburgh before a train and taxi finally got them to their front door.
Carla, from Knightswood, said: “What should have been a nice relaxing break ended up a nightmare.
“We were due to fly back late Sunday night but ended up having to travel thousands of extra miles to finally get back home days later. The worst part was the lack of communication from the airline, it was handled very poorly.
“There was no guidance or information and we had to look on social media to find out we would not be flying back to Glasgow as scheduled.
“After checking the app, we discovered the only available flight back with easyJet wasn’t until Thursday, which was of no use to us as I run my own business and had orders to fulfill. I was panicking about my customers as we were stuck in an airport without cash, food, or drink. People were just being told ‘ you will need to make your own way home, sleep in the airport or go to accommodation miles away’ – it was disgraceful.”
The couple decided to make their way back to the hotel they had been staying at and had to dig into their savings to cover the extra costs.
They had to fork out again to travel to the French capital, where they were able to secure seats onward on a separate flight to Edinburgh. Carla says the extended trip was ‘ costly and exhausting’ with the pair relieved to finally be home.
The 24- year- old, who owns Sweet Tooth by Carla in Clydebank, said: “The worst part was having to let some of my customers down. I had cakes to bake that I just couldn’t get ready in time and I lost a lot of money as a result of having to close my business for a few days. I rely on footfall and people popping into the shop, and our reputation is that we never like to let anyone down.
“We just couldn’t understand why other airlines seemed to be flying to Glasgow yet easyJet pretty much pulled their flights at the drop of a hat. They really need to think carefully about their customer service as we had no idea what was going on and we weren’t told a thing until about 10pm on Sunday evening, which wasn’t long before we were due to take off.
“We were offered accommodation miles away in quite a rough area, so we felt it safer to go back to the hotel and location we were familiar with so that we could figure out how best to get home. We have been left feeling totally drained by the whole experience.”
Dozens of flights were cancelled or delayed as sub- zero temperatures plummeted below - 10C across parts of Scotland this week.
Carla says she would think twice before booking with the budget airline again – and hopes they compensate passengers who were hit in the pocket.
She adds: “It was shambolic and has likely put me off ever flying with them again. Staff need to think about providing helpful advice when flights are grounded
at short notice, or have contingency measures to try and get people home the following day. We were facing a four- day wait if we hadn’t acted, with no spending money left and commitments at home we had to meet. We had the expense of cabs, rail tickets, hotels, food and drink, and all of that quickly mounts up – we ended up having to use money that had been put aside for a rainy day.
“Quite simply, it’s not good enough to leave people to fend for themselves thousands of miles from home.”
A spokesperson for easyJet said: “Unfortunately Ms Hossack and Mr McKechnie’s flight from Berlin to Glasgow was unable to operate due to adverse weather conditions impacting airlines operating to and from the UK.
“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is easyJet’s highest priority and while we did all possible to minimise the impact of the weather disruption for customers, offering hotel accommodation and meal and rebooking options, we know options were limited on some direct routes at this time due to weather disruption impacting all airlines.
“Whilst this was outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused and our team is in contact with Ms Hossack and Mr McKechnie to reimburse them for any expenses they have incurred.”