Family stranded in Turkey for an extra week after flight home is cancelled
A family with young children have been stranded in Turkey after easyJet cancelled their flight home.
Jamie Hurst and Chloe Dowsett were meant to fly home on Saturday 4 June but are now unable to travel until next Saturday after their flight was cancelled at the last minute.
The delay means they are missing work and school, while their one-year-old son Parker is hungry as they cannot get hold of his usual prescription milk, which he needs due to a milk allergy.
Teaching assistant Chloe said: "People are telling us to enjoy the extra time here but we can't enjoy it.
"My little girl Gracie thinks we are stuck here forever because we said we are not sure when we can go home, so she is panicking.
"They should not be booking more flights if they cannot get people home."
The family, from Ashford, Kent, had been on holiday in Kusadasi and went to Bodrum airport on Saturday to catch a flight to Gatwick at about 10pm.
They were first told it was delayed and then cancelled and ended up spending the whole night in the airport - trying to get hold of easyJet and booking company Love Holidays while struggling with no WiFi and phones that didn't work in the airport.
They are now staying in a different hotel in Bodrum while they wait to go home.
Jamie said: "Parker usually sleeps well because his milk fills him up, but he is not sleeping well because he is waking up every couple of hours hungry because we can't get him the milk he needs."
In a statement, easyJet said the flight was cancelled due to the knock-on impact of air traffic control restrictions at Gatwick Airport on legally permitted crew operating hours.
“We provided customers with options to rebook or receive a full refund as well as hotel accommodation, along with information on how to arrange this online or via the app," it said.
"Nonetheless, we fully understand the disruption this will have caused to their plans and we are very sorry for this.
“Our team have reached out to Ms Dowsett to apologise for her family’s experience and ensure their wellbeing.
"We will also be reimbursing them for expenses incurred including hotel accommodation, as a result of the cancellation.”
Travel company Love Holidays said: "Under EU Regulation 261, in the instance of a cancelled flight, it is the airline’s responsibility for offering appropriate care and assistance, and an alternative flight home as soon as possible.
"If the alternative flight is the next day or more, it is the airline’s responsibility to provide transport and accommodation until that alternative flight is due – in some cases, the passenger has to arrange the accommodation themselves and then apply to claim it back from the airline at a later date."