Pregnant woman's nightmare journey home from cancelled easyJet birthday trip
A desperate man was forced to drive from Newport to Paris to rescue his heavily pregnant stepdaughter and her husband after the pair were left stranded amidst air traffic control chaos.
Katie Moriarty, 34, and her partner Anthony's dream holiday turned into a nightmare when they found themselves stuck in Barcelona. The pair had flown from Bristol to Spain on Friday, August 25, intending to enjoy a long weekend. However, their relaxing mini-break took a stressful turn when they arrived at Barcelona airport for their return flight to the UK on Monday evening, reports Wales Online.
The couple watched in dismay as their flight "disappeared" from the airport's arrivals and departure screen. The easyJet app soon confirmed their worst fears - their flight had been cancelled.
This unfortunate incident coincided with widespread travel delays across the UK, which began on Monday, August 28. A failure in UK air traffic control systems meant that flight plans had to be manually input by controllers, causing significant disruption to numerous flights in and out of the UK.
Adding to the couple's distress, it was reported that this travel disruption could potentially last for several days. With no easyJet staff members visible in the airport, Katie and her husband were left frantically messaging and phoning the airline for information.
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The couple found themselves stranded due to easyJet's flight policies which state that pregnant women can only fly "up until the end of your 35th week". Katie, who was already at the start of her 35th week of pregnancy, and her partner were left in the lurch.
Despite their desperate attempts to reach out to easyJet, they received no response. Their situation worsened when they returned to their hotel, only to find it fully booked. With no other options, the couple checked into a nearby hostel while persistently trying to contact easyJet for guidance.
Katie recounted their ordeal at the airport: "We were looking at the screens at the airport at about 7pm on Monday, before the flight at around 10.30pm and saw the flight disappear from the screen." She added, "Then on my app, it said the flight had been cancelled."
The couple felt abandoned as there were no easyJet staff present to assist them or provide any information. "It was horrible," Katie lamented.
"The app suggested we'd be able to rearrange our flight, but because we'd booked a package holiday and not just a flight, it wouldn't let us - so we were trying to get hold of them [easyJet] on the phone and on Messenger," she explained.
Katie, from Abergavenny, emphasized the urgency of their situation: "I'm 35 weeks pregnant, and easyJet say you can only fly up to the end of the 35th week - so we knew we couldn't just keep waiting for information or a new flight."
Adding to their stress, the pair also had work commitments and three other children waiting for them back home. The children had been left with Katie's mother-in-law for the weekend while the couple was away celebrating Katie's birthday.
The expectant mother, 35 weeks pregnant, shared her harrowing experience: "We still hadn't heard back from easyJet and by this point we were panicking about getting home before the end of my 35th week of pregnancy, and my parents and husband's parents were worried too."
Their situation became so dire that her stepfather, a former long-distance lorry driver, offered to rescue them if they could reach France. "It got to the point that my stepfather... said if we could get to France, he'd come and get us."
The couple embarked on a gruelling journey from Barcelona to Lyon, then onto Paris via bus. During their journey, they received a belated message from easyJet offering a flight on September 4 - a full week after their original flight and against the airline's policy due to the woman's advanced stage of pregnancy.
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Upon reaching Paris, the woman's stepfather met them and drove them to Calais. From there, they took a ferry to Dover and finally drove home. The ordeal cost them approximately £350 for the bus, £250 for the ferry, plus additional expenses for food, petrol, and tolls.
Reflecting on their ordeal, Katie criticised easyJet's lack of communication: "It was basically radio silence from easyJet while we were there at the airport and the following day... We just had no reply from them - and then when they did eventually message, they offered a flight I wouldn't have been able to go on, against their policies." Disgruntled passengers are demanding refunds for their cancelled flights and vowing to never fly with easyJet again.
One passenger lamented, "I just want my money back for my cancelled flight and my expenses. I'm never flying with easyJet again." The ordeal has left such a bitter taste that they're considering alternative modes of travel for their annual family vacation. "We like to go away once a year as a family, but I don't want to fly again - maybe I'd travel by ferry, or just go to Cornwall."
EasyJet has been contacted for comment.
* 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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