Teacher's epic effort to get back for school as easyJet flight delayed by a week
A teacher stranded in Italy as her flight was cancelled due to the UK air traffic control failure has embarked on a mammoth effort to return home.
With the new school year looming, Helen Smith was among hundreds of passengers left in limbo on Bank Holiday Monday (August 28), as numerous flights to the UK were grounded. The chaos saw passengers scrambling for solutions, with some resorting to hiring cars and driving to Calais to make their way back home.
Hailing from Forsbrook, Staffordshire, Helen knew she had no choice but to find a way back in time for her role at St Wulstan's Catholic Primary School, in nearby Wolstanton, which is set to commence on Monday, September 4.
Passengers are stranded at airports across the world (PA)The 30-year-old woman had initially flown to Milan for a three-day city break with two friends. However, after enduring "hours and hours" of delays on Monday, her easyJet flight back to Manchester was abruptly cancelled. Adding to the turmoil, one of her London-based friends also had her BA flight axed, Stoke-on-Trent Live reports.
While stuck in the easyJet customer service queue, Helen and her friend ingeniously managed to transfer their booking to fly back from Venice. Despite the flight not leaving until Thursday, it proved to be a savvy move. Once they finally spoke to easyJet, it became clear that they wouldn't have been able to secure a flight out of Milan until the following week.
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In a twist of events that has left them hundreds of pounds poorer, Helen and her companion have finally secured a route home after enduring a series of unfortunate incidents. The duo had to bear the additional costs of hotels, train tickets, and food amidst the chaos. To add insult to injury, the only available hotel they could find in Venice was reminiscent of "Fawlty Towers", and a thunderstorm weather warning looms over them until tomorrow.
Recounting the pandemonium at Milan airport yesterday, Helen shared with Stoke-on-Trent Live: "After hours and hours of delays our flights were cancelled. We were in the airport a long time - it was carnage. It's been grim but we just have to try and make the best of it."
She further revealed their struggle to change flights using the easyJet app, saying: "Both of us were on the easyJet app to change the flights. It was a good job we had smartphones and were savvy enough to do it. There were no options to fly back from Milan until next week. We're both teachers so that's an absolute no-go.
In a desperate bid to find a way home, they explored nearby cities accessible by train. "So we thought what cities are nearby that are close enough for us to get a train and fly from. We found a Venice to Manchester flight on Thursday. We managed to book a hotel in Milan last night and we've travelled three and half hours on the train today to get to Venice. We have a hotel here that I'd liken to Fawlty Towers but it was all that was available and what we could afford at the moment."
In a shocking turn of events, holidaymakers are facing severe financial strain as their three-day city break unexpectedly extends into a full week. The culprit? Unprecedented air traffic issues that have left them stranded and cash-strapped. Despite easyJet's assurance of covering the cost of a three-star hotel, the fine print reveals that air traffic issues are beyond their control, leaving passengers in a state of uncertainty about reimbursement.
One passenger expressed sympathy for airport staff caught in this extraordinary situation, but questioned the lack of contingency plans. They shared their own solution: "When we spoke to them and said we'd managed to find a flight from Venice they said it was a great idea!"
The ripple effect of these disruptions has been far-reaching, with tens of thousands more airline passengers suffering flight cancellations on 30, Aug 2023. Transport Secretary Mark Harper described it as the worst incident of its kind in "nearly a decade" and announced an "independent review" will be carried out.
National Air Traffic Services (Nats), the ATC provider at the heart of the issue, experienced a "technical issue" that prevented automatic processing of flight plans. This led to restrictions on flights to and from UK airports while the plans were manually checked.
Although Nats announced at 3.15pm on Monday that the problem was resolved, the disruption spilled over into Tuesday as many aircraft and crews were out of position.
In a recent statement, easyJet reassured its customers amidst ongoing disruptions, stating: "The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is our highest priority." The airline acknowledged that the circumstances leading to the disruption were beyond their control but expressed sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused. They further pledged to do everything within their power to mitigate the impact of the disruption on their valued customers.
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* This article was crafted with the help of an AI tool, which speeds up The Mirror's editorial research. An editor reviewed this content before it was published. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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