Hundreds of Brits stranded in Bulgaria in -7C temperatures after flight diverted

13 January 2024 , 21:20

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Jet2 passengers were left stranded in Bulgaria after their flight was diverted (Image: Tom Davies Photography)

Hundreds of people have been left stranded in -7C temperatures in Bulgaria after their Jet2 flight was diverted and cancelled.

A Welsh family who had been enjoying a break in Turkey said their holiday ended in a nightmare on Friday evening as they were expecting to fly back to Bristol but instead found themselves stuck in sub-zero temperatures in Sofia. A passenger described the ordeal as an "absolute shambles" - and Jet2 has since apologised to "all affected customers".

The flight was diverted due to a person needing medical attention. The rest of the passengers said they were left on the plane for two hours without food or water.

A passenger said that during the hold-up, three other travellers became "agitated", leading to a confrontation with the plane's crew. The situation escalated when the police were called to deal with these disruptive passengers, who were later escorted off the aircraft.

They revealed their disappointment over the last-minute change in plans, saying they were initially assured by Jet2 that they would be provided accommodation and transport in Sofia. However, they were then told to organise their own transport and keep hold of receipts for reimbursement. When they finally reached their hotel at 11pm, they joined a queue of about 150 fellow passengers from their flight. They only managed to check into their rooms around midnight.

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Speaking the next day, the passenger shared that they were still waiting for their rescheduled return flight to Bristol. They said: "I have never seen anything like this in my entire life with flying. Jet2 and its crew could have totally handled the situation differently. However, they didn't want to know and the captain was more than happy to remain hidden away where he should have taken charge of the situation. What an absolute shambles."

A spokesperson for Jet2 confirmed that the flight was diverted due to a passenger needing urgent medical help. They said: "Flight LS1810 from Antalya to Bristol diverted to Sofia due to a customer requiring urgent medical attention. Unfortunately, some disruptive customers also had to be offloaded by police meaning that the flight could not operate due to the crew running out of operating hours."

They added: "As a result of this, our teams worked hard to arrange hotel accommodation for customers at short notice, despite the fact we do not operate to Sofia. We will be flying customers back to Bristol today and we would of course like to apologise to all affected customers."

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Branwen Jones