‘Abandoned’ TUI passengers slept on Rhodes airport floor after IT outage cancels Bristol flight

A Bristol passenger hoping to fly home from Rhodes to Bristol with TUI on Friday evening (July 19) was left to retrieve his luggage and spend a night sleeping on the airport floor. It follows the massive IT outage that affected much of the country yesterday and resulted in flight cancellations.

The flight was scheduled to depart Rhodes at 11.59pm, arriving back in Bristol at 2.15am this morning. But by 8.30am, passengers still did not know when they would fly home.

With around 180 people said to be stranded and with no information or updates from TUI staff for hours, passengers said they felt “frustrated”, “abandoned” and “angry” at the situation and were “desperate ” to get home. They added that they were given food vouchers by staff but that the vouchers could only be used at one shop on site and within about 20 minutes they claim there was no food left to buy.

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Speaking to BristolLive, Andrew Rankine, who lives in Bristol, said: “We are stressed. We have been here since 8pm last night and there are small children, elderly people, people sleeping on the floor.

“TUI has not yet provided us with any information. The reps here have no idea what’s going on. Tried calling the helpline but it rings.

“They told us at about 2.30am that we would have to find our own accommodation because they didn’t want to host us. We have a lot of people here – some people are on medication. It’s just not good at all.

“We slept near the departure area. We took up the length of the building, there are so many of us. Some are on the floor, the children are on chairs. We slept wherever we could last night and this morning.

“There are a lot of people with cars in the car park so this is going to cost them extra. It’s just not good at all. The TUI reps said they have no idea what’s going on.

“I received a food voucher this morning. But when we went to the kiosk, you could only spend it in one of the stores. And all the food was gone in 20-25 minutes.

“But the main thing is accommodation. We don’t know when we will leave here and so far we are still here at the airport.”

Andrew said the flight was due to depart at around 12pm and at around 12.45pm staff called the passengers to the desk to tell them the flight had been cancelled. He added: “But they insisted we come to the airport, despite the fact that we knew it was happening on Friday morning and we knew we weren’t leaving here.

“But they insisted we go to the airport and book as normal. They didn’t give us a reason. They just said we had to be on the bus and at the airport at the normal time. So we were here around 4/5 hours.”

Andrew went on to say that many of the passengers had missed connecting flights and had jobs to return to. TUI told them to keep their receipts if they bought food or accommodation themselves and they should be able to claim the money back.

Andrew said: “Checked the chart this morning and other flights seem to be flying normally. Jet2 flew normally last night. TUI flights to Gatwick and Manchester canceled early but all got hotels!”

By 9.30am, TUI told passengers they were being moved to a hotel so they could “wash and eat”. Although they were delighted to be told they would not be required to pay and would be given a “day pass”, the passengers still did not know when they would be flying home.

At 9.40am, Andrew told BristolLive that TUI still did not have a timetable for the flight back to Bristol, adding: “It could be another night at the airport.”

A TUI spokesperson said: “Due to the global IT issue at airports and airlines around the world yesterday, TUI’s overall level of service was severely affected and we would like to apologize to everyone affected. While the initial IT issue was beyond our control, a critical system required for the operation of our airline remained unstable late last night.

“So we have taken the difficult decision to cancel a number of outbound flights. We are very sorry for all those customers affected as we understand how disappointing this would have been and recognize that many customers were already at the airport awaiting their departure. we want to reassure customers returning home from holiday that there will be inbound flights and we will update them directly when we have more information.

“We also ask that all TUI customers due to travel this weekend check the TUI website regularly for updates. We will also contact customers directly via text and email if there are any changes to their flights.

“We are deeply sorry for the inconvenience this has caused our customers and our teams are working extremely hard to get everyone home from their holidays as soon as possible.”

A second passenger, Jo Smart, who lives in Bristol, said: “It’s really annoying because we all have work and animals to get back to. It’s frustrating not knowing anything. There are people on the floor, children without blankets or pillows, we just feel abandoned, just left here without accommodation – it’s just shocking.

“We haven’t been checked since we got food stamps. You pay money to TUI and the welfare was just awful. I feel the worst for the children and the elderly here, to be honest.

“I have flown with TUI several times and never had any problems. But this is shocking and enough to let me fly with them again.

“Now sitting at the airport, everyone’s flight is leaving. Passengers are going through – easyJet, even TUI flights now – they’re all leaving. It’s a standard busy airport. The other TUI flights that were canceled at night were allocated hotels. , but when I got to we check in we are told there is no room left and we will have to find our own but if everywhere is full where do we go?

“After a wonderful holiday in the sun, we just want to get home!”

Passengers were spread out over several floors to sleep and some were told that if they booked other flights they might not be entitled to compensation. Jo is hoping that other expenses, such as an extra day of looking after her animals, will be covered and can be claimed, as they will otherwise be very out of pocket.

Around 32 outbound flights were canceled from 10 UK airports on July 19, according to TUI. Customers who were due to travel on a canceled flight will be able to change their holiday without administration fees to any other TUI package on sale, with a rebooking incentive of up to 10% if the new holiday is more expensive. This 10% incentive is based on the original cost of the vacation. Customers will also receive a TUI holiday voucher of £200 per adult and £100 for each child on a new future holiday. These vouchers will be sent within 28 days.

Information from TUI shows that inbound flights have not been canceled and customers will be informed when they return to the UK. All overseas customers will be looked after by the airline’s team at the resorts.