Outrage in Turkey and Cyprus as ‘stranded’ British tourists ‘treated like cattle’ with TUI
Enraged holidaymakers say they've been kept in the dark and by the holiday company following a global IT failure.
British tourists say they’ve been “treated like cattle” and kept in the dark as TUI grapples to catch up after a global IT failure.
The furious holidaymakers say they’ve been left stranded at European destinations after the catastrophic computer system collapse which has caused carnage around the world.
Families taking their summer breaks in Turkey and Cyprus had their flights cancelled after hours waiting at airports only then to be shuttled between undisclosed hotels and even forced to share rooms with total strangers.
Pauline Clements, a gran from near Wishaw in Scotland, was in Turkey with her family.
Their Glasgow-bound flight from Antalya airport was originally scheduled for July 19 but got the axe following two delays, reports The Mirror. They were flown back to the UK on Monday.
Pauline said: "We were loaded onto a bus like cattle and dumped at a hotel after waiting for hours. The TUI reps dropped us off and left."
She added: "When we went into the hotel, the staff said they didn't have enough rooms for us. Several families were left to share rooms with strangers so we all had somewhere to sleep.
"We had to sort the situation out for ourselves because TUI abandoned us. It was awful."
Pauline also says they were forced to move hotels with next to no notice - and not even told where to.
Andy Anderson was set to return on the same flight.
He said: "We were kept in the dark for almost a day before being told on Sunday morning that we would be flying home on Tuesday - four days after we were due to return home.
"We were taken to a hotel and told to relax as we would be here until we flew home."
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But yesterday TUI reps showed up and told Andy they had to move accommodation - but again given no details as to where.
Charlene Mennie had a similar ordeal in Cyprus. Her Glasgow-bound flight from Larnaca was scrapped four days ago.
She said: "It's very frustrating. The communication has been so poor. We will have been stuck here for five days.
"We were due to return to work and are both having to take unpaid leave now till Thursday. I'll be asking TUI about compensation."
Express.co.uk has approached TUI UK for comment.
A TUI UK spokesperson told The Mirror: "Whilst the original IT issue was outside of our control the impact, alongside air traffic control restrictions over the weekend, meant we had to cancel some flights and delay some return flights home.
"We understand how frustrating this would have been and recognise that many of these delays happened when our customers were already at the airport.
"We would like to reassure customers that if they are currently overseas our TUI team will look after them and flights home provided. We will continue to update customers with more information and can confirm that if a return flight time has changed we will contact them directly 24 hours before departure.
"We thank our customers for their understanding and continued patience."
