A diabetic man from Aberdeen has said he will not use Tui “ever again” after the airline left him “stranded and dehydrated” in Edinburgh – after refusing to let him buy a bottle of water.
Alan Rea’s first holiday in two years was ruined when his flight back home to Aberdeen turned into a “shambles”.
The 52-year-old and his wife Tracy boarded the Tui TOM1665 Palma to Aberdeen flight following a “fantastic” seven-day cruise, thinking they would be “tucked in bed” by 1am.
But following a spate of “operational issues”, the couple ended up “dumped” in the capital at 3.30am on Sunday without any transport provided or advice on how to get home in the early hours.
‘They had a duty of care’
The flight, which was initially expected to land in Aberdeen at 10.30pm on Saturday, was first delayed by two and a half hours.
Then, about halfway through the journey, the pilot announced the aircraft would be redirected to Edinburgh due to fog in Aberdeen.
Upon landing in the capital, passengers were faced with yet another hour and half on board the plane due to the lack of staff to take them to the terminal.
The final blow for Mr Rea, however, was when he was refused a bottle of water during his wait – even though he explained he suffers from diabetes and was dehydrated.
He said: “There was no water or food offered to us. I understand it’s a busy operation, but surely somebody could have come to the plane to provide sandwiches and juice.
“I just felt they had a duty of care. This was absolutely ridiculous.
“She knew I had this issue and for that extra hour and a half, I had no refreshments on the plane.
“Even people who transport pigs and sheep stop over a period of time to feed and water them. We were treated less than animals moved from one farm to another to be slaughtered.”
Passengers left to fend for themselves in Edinburgh
While the company initially reassured customers they would provide on-ground transport to Aberdeen, passengers were later told they would have to make their own way home.
Earlier this week, David MacDonald told The P&J he had to pay £403 for a taxi back to Aberdeen, and described his experience as “a long, harrowing journey”.
Storeman Mr Rea, who had to make an unexpected train journey home to Aberdeen to get to work, shared his frustration and hit back at the airline for the way they handled the situation.
He added: “There was no Tui representative at Edinburgh Airport to advise us what was going on – and there were young people, families with babies, elderly people.
“I spent around £130 to get back, but a lot of people who come back from a holiday don’t have that kind of money.
“And if you didn’t have money to get from Edinburgh to Aberdeen, or to even get out of the airport, there was no advice how you get home.”
Following his “chaotic” experience with Tui, Mr Rae has now said he will no longer use the airline’s services and is already looking at other holiday providers.
He said: “I’ve been on cruises with Tui six or seven times – I absolutely like the brand and I enjoyed the holiday. But the flight coming back and the chaos have really put me off.
“I did have it at the back of my mind there may be an issue coming back, but I didn’t expect it to be to such extremes.
“I thought maybe an hour or two of delay, but not be stranded in Edinburgh, dumped there and not even given any guidance or assistance. It was shambles.”
‘We know we fell short of our usual high standards’
Tui declined to comment on why Mr Rea was not allowed to buy a bottle water on the plane.
Instead, a spokeswoman said: “We fully understand the frustration of customers on flight TOM1665 which was initially delayed because of the late arrival of the inbound flight and then diverted to Edinburgh due to bad weather in Aberdeen.
“Due to staff shortages with the ground handling suppliers at Edinburgh Airport, there was a longer-than-usual wait time for terminal transfers and baggage.
“Our teams worked hard to secure transportation for customers to return to Aberdeen from Edinburgh, however despite their best efforts, they were unable to secure the adequate number of vehicles for all customers.
“Customers were advised that they could arrange their own transfers if preferred and submit their receipts for reimbursement.
“We know we fell short of our usual high standards and we’d like to apologise to all customers for the inconvenience.”
Conversation