Cabin crew 'crying' and captain 'shouting' as flight is diverted twice

23 October 2023 , 13:39

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Families were forced to queue for hours

A passenger has claimed that the cabin crew were "crying" and the captain was "shouting" when a Jet2 flight was diverted twice over the weekend.

A dad-of-two boarded flight LS981 from Manchester to Lanzarote on Saturday with his wife and two children - but while approaching their destination in the Canary Islands, passengers were told they were being diverted 30 minutes south to Tenerife due to "unforeseen operational difficulties".

And after a successful landing in Tenerife, the passenger claims they were then told they would have to fly a further three hours to Alicante in Spain where they would stay overnight.

He said he felt like a "prisoner" when he was not allowed to leave the aircraft, adding: "All of the cabin crew were crying. They were in a position of no power and left to clear up the mess. The crew told me the captain was 'shouting and fuming'."

Jet2 apologised to passengers

The family eventually arrived in Alicante in the early hours of the morning, where they say they waited 40 minutes to collect their luggage and had to travel to Benidorm to get to a hotel put on for them by Jet2. The dad, from Manchester, told Manchester Evening News: "We waited 40 minutes for our luggage, 30 minutes to get a coach and when we finally arrived in Benidorm at 5:15am we had to queue in the cold to get a room in the hotel.

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"The hotel is right on the Benidorm strip filled with drunken revellers on a Saturday night. This flight is filled with children!" He says the family were given a room at around 7.30am, but told they had to check out just less than five hours later, with no information about what would happen next.

"We all expect delays and accepted the diversion but to fly back three hours on a four hour flight is ridiculous," he added. "It's worth pointing out here that the crew and the reps were friendly and respectful. I just want a resolution so that we can go on our family holiday." They were eventually told by Jet2 they would be picked up on Sunday afternoon to fly out on Sunday evening.

A spokesperson said: "Due to adverse weather conditions, flight LS891 from Manchester to Lanzarote diverted to Alicante on Saturday 21st October. We would like to offer our sincere apologies to all customers affected by the unforeseen delay, which was beyond our control.

"Although we understand the enormous inconvenience that this causes, we will never compromise on putting everyone's comfort, safety and well-being first. We provided customers with hotel accommodation, and our teams worked tirelessly to look after everyone. We can confirm that the flight arrived in Lanzarote yesterday evening."

Nicole Wootton-Cane