Easyjet leaves diabetic passenger stranded in airport after he loses passport
Easyjet has apologised after leaving a diabetic passenger stranded at Manchester Airport after he lost his passport.
Tom Solan, 52, realised he had lost his passport when he was already through security and at the gate for his flight to Cyprus. Despite being told by an airline representative that someone would escort him out of the building, no help arrived. While he missed his New Year's Eve departure and his holiday, what was more pressing was fear of a diabetes flare-up.
Tom even called the police and eventually managed to contact the airline's ground handling agent who sent an official to help. After three hours, he was finally able to leave the terminal and the airline has since apologised. Mr Solan shared: "I was about to board at 1:05pm and I knew I would need my passport but I could not find it. These things happen. I've never lost a passport before. I have a laptop bag and I always keep it in a zip pocket. There's a possibility it did fall out when I took my phone out of my bag. I checked everywhere. I went back to security and they x-rayed everything to try and find it. They were very helpful. I didn't find it. They went through absolutely everything. They suggested I go back to the lounge. I searched absolutely everywhere and didn't find it. I'm a type one diabetic and stress is a big problem for type one diabetics because it can cause blood sugar levels to increase hugely."
Tom said back at the gate an airline representative told him to go to another gate where he would be met and escorted to border control so he could leave without any travel documents. He said nobody from the airline came. He found a number for the airline's ground handling agent but could only leave a voicemail. He returned to security only to be told it was only an airline official who could escort him through border control.
He even emailed the Manchester Evening News to report he was stuck inside the airport, comparing himself to Viktor Navorski, a movie character played by Tom Hanks in The Terminal, who was unable to fly out or walk out of JFK airport in New York. In the end, someone from Easyjet's ground handling agent made contact with Mr Solan and, three hours after the drama started, he was escorted to border control where he was allowed back "landside" without his travel documents.
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The English teacher, remained in Manchester on New Year's Day attempting to obtain a replacement passport. He said the last time he recalled seeing the document was when he was required to show it before flying out from Dublin to Manchester earlier on New Year's Eve with another airline ahead of his connecting flight to Cyprus. He said officials in Ireland have said it could be Wednesday or even later before a replacement document can be provided.
Mr Solan spent around 1,000 on flights and accommodation for a holiday to Cyprus that he has now missed. Travelling light without hold luggage, he said he was not asked to show his passport when he landed in Manchester. There are no 'routine' passport controls for Irish and UK nationals travelling between the two nations although some airlines ask to see a passport as proof of identity.
A statement from Easyjet said: "Easyjet is sorry for the delay in providing assistance to Mr Solan and for any inconvenience this may have caused him. Due to the increased workload of our ground staff at this busy time of year, it may occasionally take longer than usual to provide the required assistance."
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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