Hundreds of holidaymakers have been left stranded and facing hours of disruption, more than 1,200 miles from their destination, after their Manchester flight was abruptly cancelled. Passengers aboard the easyJet service to Antalya this morning, Friday (August 28), claim they were instructed to leave the runway just 'ten minutes' before their scheduled departure. One traveller said they were on the verge of boarding when they were directed back to the terminal.
Weather delays and crew duty limits
The airline has stated that weather-related delays would have pushed the crew beyond their 'legally permitted hours'. Following a wait of over four hours, passengers — originally scheduled to depart at 7.45am — eventually took off towards their holiday destination at around 12pm, after a replacement crew was sourced, according to the Manchester Evening News.
However, once airborne, passengers were informed that the flight would need to divert to Milan, as the crew had reached its duty-time limit and could no longer legally continue working. Those on board — predominantly families with young children, according to fellow passengers — were taken to Milan Airport, more than 1,200 miles short of their intended destination.
Passenger ordeal in Milan
Each passenger has been handed a €25 food voucher while they await a fresh crew, who are reportedly travelling from Manchester Airport and expected to arrive at approximately 7.30pm local time (6.30pm GMT). EasyJet has stated that the original flight was delayed due to air traffic control restrictions brought about by severe weather conditions across Europe, and that the delay would have caused the crew to surpass their legally permitted working hours, prompting a stopover in Milan to swap out the crew.
James Lanson, who has been travelling with his wife and two year old daughter since this morning, spoke to the Manchester Evening News while awaiting yet another replacement flight, describing the ordeal as particularly gruelling. "It's been unbelievably difficult with our toddler," he said. "She hasn't eaten, she can't understand what's going on. There's no facilities in this airport for her or any of the other kids. I used to work as a prison officer and the prison that I used to work in kept the prisoners in better condition."
Passenger criticism and response
He recounted the initial cancellation: "We got on the coach, drove to the airplane and pulled up next to it and the doors didn't open. The bus driver said the pilot had called in sick and that he was gonna have to take us back to the airport. So me, being a scouser, I thought it was a little bit of humour and he was gonna say he was joking and tell us to have a good holiday. But no, he drove us back to the terminal and they said they were trying to source us a new pilot."
Speaking from Milan Airport, he said that easyJet staff informed passengers the delay was the result of adverse weather conditions and air traffic control restrictions. He said: "I've been looking at Flight Radar and planes have been landing in Antalya all day, so I don't know where this thing with this problem with the weather has come from. But a Jet2 flight took off just before ours was due to leave and that's landed in Antalya a couple of hours ago. And we've just seen our old crew leave five minutes ago and get on a flight home. Which is great, while we're stuck here."
He added: "They've given us a €25 voucher but the only place you can use it in this really small, tiny airport is a Pret. I think I've gone back about five or six times since we landed, so in three hours, and the queue's enormous and it's not moving. It's a sh**show. We've been told the crew that are coming to fly our plane to take us to Antalya are coming from Manchester. No one's given us any information. All they've done is given us a voucher."
He further revealed that his two year old child had not eaten since 8am, with the Pret outlet running critically low on food supplies. EasyJet stated that the flight was delayed owing to air traffic control restrictions brought about by severe weather conditions across Europe, adding that the delay would have caused the crew to surpass their legally permitted working hours, prompting the decision to arrange a crew changeover in Milan. The plane is set to be refuelled before continuing its journey on to Antalya, according to the Manchester Evening News.
An easyJet spokesperson said: "We are sorry for any inconvenience this will have caused and did all we could to minimise the impact of the disruption. The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is always easyJet's highest priority."
