20 July 2023 , 09:54
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A young couple who have never smoked were banned from a holiday flight - after being wrongly accused of vaping.
Lois Light, 27, and her partner Dexter were on a TUI flight to Lanzarote from Gatwick when two other passengers, who were being rowdy, were caught vaping on the plane by cabin crew.
The plane landed in Lanzarote and Lois and Dexter enjoyed a well-earned week-long, £1,500 break in the sunshine, thinking little more of the e-cigarette incident.
On the afternoon of their flight home Lois and Dexter were called to reception by their TUI rep and told they were banned from getting on the plane.
The pair were accused of having vaped on the outward flight and were told they had to book a separate flight with another airline to get back to Gatwick.
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The duo were shocked to be accused of vaping (Lois Light / SWNS)The couple insisted that it was case of mistaken identity, particularly as the offending couple had both been female. Despite their pleas the ban remained and they were forced to fork out another £500 on new flights, transfers and luggage.
Lois, a nurse from Norwich, Norfolk, said: "It ruined our holiday and has caused a huge amount of stress since. It is shocking that a mistake like this can happen and Tui said there was nothing they could do to help and seemed to not believe us."
The couple, neither of whom smoke or vape, were told just two hours before they were due to fly home on Sunday, July 9 that they had been banned from the flight.
The pair scrambled to resolve the situation and protest their innocence, but to no avail, forcing them to find another flight home.
Lois and her partner had to book new flights home (Lois Light / SWNS)It left the holidaymakers having to fork out nearly £500 to get an easyJet flight back to the UK seven hours later.
After arriving back in Norwich, complaints to the holiday company also failed to resolve the situation, with TUI saying they stand by their decision.
They continued to accuse the couple of having vaped and bad behaviour, despite their repeated explanations they'd got the wrong people.
Lois said: "We tried saying there was a mix-up but initially, everyone we spoke to said there was nothing they could do. You'd think they would be able to look at the CCTV on the plane or see we did not match the description from staff. I was even asleep at the time with headphones on so I didn't even know it had happened."
After posting about their ordeal on Facebook, Lois received an apology from TUI, with the package holiday company since accepting liability and offering the couple compensation for the ordeal. The firm has paid for the cost of their travel.
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The couple insist they were not vaping on the flight (Getty Images/iStockphoto)Lois says their offer has fallen short and she expects more from TUI.
She said: "They've paid our expenses and offered £500 compensation each - but that's not enough. It's not like the air con was broken in our hotel, or the food made us ill - they've wrongly accused us of something which is a horrible feeling.
"The whole experience was extremely upsetting."
A Tui spokesperson said: "We are sincerely sorry for the ordeal they experienced on their journey home from Lanzarote. Unfortunately, a human error meant that the couple were falsely identified as disruptive passengers following their flight.
"We have since apologised to the couple and offered them compensation and have paid for the travel costs as well as offering them a goodwill gesture. Instances like this are extremely rare, and we take security matters very seriously. We can only continue to apologise for this error, and we hope that the couple were still able to enjoy their holiday before this unfortunate mix up."
Almost all airlines allow passengers to pack their vapes in hand luggage, although some ban them from being kept in checked-luggage. Like smoking vaping is banned from all parts of the plane, as it can trigger the aircraft's smoke alarm and be confused for an incendiary device.