TEARS AS CONTEST DANCERS ARE LEFT STUCK AT AIRPORT
YOUNG Welsh dancers had their dreams of competing in the Dance World Cup shattered after their flight to the contest in Barcelona was cancelled and the replacement flight delayed.
Some of the 10 dancers, aged 10 to 13, from Planet Gymnastics in Cardiff, were left in tears when they realised they wouldn’t get the chance to compete after months of training and fundraising. The competition involves thousands of dancers from 50 countries.
The group spent a full day stuck with their dance teacher Emma Thompson, and parents, at Birmingham Airport after their 1.30pm Vueling flight to Barcelona on Friday was delayed and then cancelled.
“The girls are so upset and nothing I can say will cheer them up now. We are very angry,” said Emma yesterday.
Having been put up in an airport hotel for the night they returned to check in, as instructed, at 5am yesterday, to be told the replacement flight was delayed.
They were still waiting at the airport at noon – more than 24 hours after arrival.
The delay meant the group missed the first competition they were due to be involved in on Saturday morning but they were hoping to make the second, which was due to begin at 6.30pm.
The group of acro-dancers has been training for months and raised thousands to compete in the competition, which involves more than 5,000 competitors globally.
The girls, who paid £250 each for return flights and raised £3,000 for kit for the contest, tried to keep spirits up by training in the departure halls.
But Emma said some had been crying as the realisation set in that they wouldn’t compete. And she was furious at what she said was a lack of information from the budget Spanish airline.
She and parents claim they have had no real information from Vueling, which appeared to have no representative at Birmingham Airport.
“There’s a real lack of support,” she said. “We were due to be competing and going to masterclasses. Some of the girls are very upset as the reality is hitting in that they won’t compete.
“The girls were all up for it and they have worked so hard.”
Mother Eirian Thomas, who is accompanying the group with daughter Mairwen, 10, said: “We are so angry. The girls have trained for months.”
The young dancers attend schools across Cardiff. One, Amelie Woodland, had her 10th birthday yesterday. Others were experiencing their first trip abroad.
The group finally managed to compete in the contest last night after dashing from the airport straight to the venue. They touched down in Barcelona at 4.45pm – leaving them just under two hours to get to the Melia Theatre in Sitje to warm up and face 12 other teams from around the globe.
Eirian said the whole plane cheered for them when it touched down.
Vueling chief communications and public affairs officer Ana Fernandez said Vueling does hire staff to represent the company at Birmingham Airport and passengers had been given vouchers and updated.
“On Friday the aircraft had technical problems and we had to check the whole plane,” she said.
“On Saturday morning, we thought it was ready to fly but another issue came up.”