Easyjet tells holidaymakers they must fly to Spain in order to get flight from England to Scotland

Confused passengers

The couple waited for a connecting flight that never took off

PA
Sam Montgomery

By Sam Montgomery


Published: 03/07/2023

- 15:04

Updated: 04/07/2023

- 08:45

One British couple found themselves in an easyjet-induced 27 hour holiday travel from hell

Carly Wilkinson and partner Reece Pollock have complained about being pinballed between Palma, Bristol and Glasgow by easyjet, before finally giving up on flying.

Attempting to fly home to Glasgow from a holiday in Majorca, the couple were texted by the airline to inform them that their flight had been cancelled.


The pair were presented with an ultimatum to either cough up £600 to travel with another airline or wait 11 hours for an alternative flight to Glasgow via Bristol Airport.

Having settled in for the latter option, the couple eventually landed in Bristol but upon arrival were notified by text that their flight to Glasgow had now been cancelled.

Majorca beach

Majorca is one of Spain's Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean

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Easyjet informed Carly, 22, and Reese, 23, that their only option via plane would be to fly back to Spain and take the original route to Scotland.

Unconvinced by this offer to yo-yo across the channel, the couple decided enough was enough.

Carly said: “[Easyjet] said they could fly us back to Glasgow but we would have to go via Alicante in Spain, where we had just come from.

“We couldn’t believe it – we had been travelling for hours and just wanted to get home. We didn’t want to end up stranded in Alicante.”

Carly, a janitor at Edinburgh University, said: “It was a nightmare. We had a lovely holiday but it was totally ruined by the disaster we had getting home.

Easyjet promotion

The couple said their holiday has been 'totally ruined'

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“What should have been a two-and-a-half-hour flight turned into us travelling for 27 hours.

“We arrived at Palma de Mallorca Airport at 3am for a 7am flight only to be told it was cancelled.

"They said we could pay £600 for flights with another airline and, when I asked what if people couldn’t afford that, the staff just shrugged.

“I arranged a flight home via Bristol through their app but we had to wait about the airport till 2pm.

"Once we finally got to Bristol, we collected our luggage and checked it onto the Glasgow flight before we got the text.

Signs in Mallorca

Majorca is a popular location for package holidays

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“There were 10 of us in the same situation so we stuck together and eventually easyJet agreed to send us via taxi back to Glasgow.”

Carly added: “After the longest journey home, we then had to pay another £50 for a taxi back to Balloch to collect my car.

“We slept on the floor in the airport and easyJet didn’t offer us any vouchers towards food.”

Since telling their story to the press, Easyjet have given the couple £100 in expenses.

Easyjet plane

easyjet later reimbursed the couple

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The couple originally paid £1500 for a seven night package holiday via On The Beach booking agent.

An easyjet spokesperson said: “We did all possible to minimise the impact of the disruption.

“They transferred to an alternative flight to Bristol where we arranged a car transfer to Glasgow due to their onward flight also being cancelled as a result of air traffic control restrictions.

“We understand the difficulty this will have caused and we are contacting the couple to apologise for their experience and reimburse them for their expenses.”

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