‘Chaos’ as tourists left stranded by sand storm
HUNDREDS of holidaymakers have reportedly been stranded in the Canary Islands following a weekend sand storm after a travel company was unable to provide alternative flights.
Passengers scheduled to return to Cardiff on Saturday say they have struggled to get updates from Tui and have been forced to sleep on the airport floor without food or a change of clothes.
Shauna John was on a Tui holiday with her teenage daughter when the Saharan dust cloud moved over the island.
She was scheduled to return to Cardiff on Saturday, but saw her flight cancelled after visibility dropped dramatically.
She said: “I slept on the airport floor until [being given] accommodation on Sunday night. [I’ve] not seen [my] suitcase with belongings since check in Saturday. No food vouchers provided.”
Shauna estimated there were thousands of people sleeping at the airport on Saturday night.
“There were people sleeping on conveyor belts and babies sleeping in cardboard boxes,” she said.
Shauna, from Pembrokeshire, and her daughter Megan, returned to the airport yesterday only to be told they will likely be flown to London Gatwick or Manchester, rather than Cardiff as originally planned.
“It’s absolutely chaos again, no-one including reps have a clue what’s going on,” Shauna said.
Other passengers have been shuttled back and forth to the airport a number of times since the sand storm.
Carlo Testa, a teacher from Newport, said he, his partner and his partner’s parents have endured “chaos” at the hands of the company since their cruise ended on Saturday.
He said: “When we got to the airport, we checked in and all seemed normal, as did security. When we got through to departures, it was chaos. People everywhere and the departure board just showing delays and cancellations.”
He said they were unable to find representatives from Tui and there was no information given, or calls over the public address system.
They spent roughly six hours waiting before a member of staff turned up and advised them to follow through security, Carlo said.
“We did, [and were] taken back through security and then through the crowds of people who weren’t checked in. Absolute chaos, go to desk 113, 13, 10. There was no organisation or leadership. “
He says they were eventually “marched the length of the airport” before being put on a coach and driven back to their ship at 12.30am.
When Sunday rolled around, Carlo said they were once again shuttled to the airport.
He said they arrived at 10am and waited til noon, before finding out that her the Cardiff-bound flight still hadn’t taken off from Tenerife, where it had been diverted on Saturday.
At 2pm, the airport closed again due to the sand and they once again boarded a coach, which transferred them to a hotel over an hour away.
“We have no information as to where our Cardiff flight is. Tui are doing their best in a difficult situation that’s out of their control, but must try and keep us better informed.
“We have no idea when we will be home,” said the teacher, who was due back in work yesterday.
Carlo also said they have since been told they will be flown to Manchester
Airport or Gatwick – but not back to Cardiff Airport.
A spokeswoman for Tui yesterday said the company provided as many customers as they could with overnight accommodation and everyone was provided with food and drinks as well as being supported by Tui reps.
She added: “We would like to sincerely apologise to our customers whose flights were disrupted by adverse and changeable weather conditions in the Canary Islands over the weekend.
“The safety of our customers and crew is always our highest priority and we’re working tirelessly to get everyone to their destination as quickly as possible.
“Following an improvement in the weather overnight, all flights scheduled to depart to the Canary Islands today (Monday) will be operating as planned.
“We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused and would like to thank our customers for their co-operation and patience.”
She said the group was hopeful that they would be able to get everyone home yesterday who had been stuck in the Canaries over the weekend.