Leeds holidaymakers airport protest
28.08.08
Yorkshire sun seekers staged an airport protest after a 24 hour delay for their Leeds Bradford Airport bound flight, the Evening Post reports. Nearly 150 passengers stormed the VIP lounge after discovering their flight from Dalaman had been delayed by 24 hours.
The protest was the culmination of a catalogue of problems the travellers say they had to endure including being forced to sleep outside a hotel and being left without food and water for hours.
The nightmare unfolded in the early hours of Bank Holiday Monday when 300 Leeds Bradford bound passengers travelled from their holiday hotels to Dalaman Airport. They arrived at 03:20 for their 05:30 flight home, but the check-in desks never opened. About two hours later they were told the flight had been cancelled, with no further explanation.
The passengers, who had booked with the Surrey-based Goldtrail Travel, were put onto coaches and taken to a hotel back in the centre of Dalaman. But when they arrived, passengers say hotel managers had no idea they were coming and had no free beds. The passengers had to sleep on the floor in the reception or outside.
At 16:00 the passengers were told by the hotel that two jets had been organised and would leave Dalaman at 16:30. The first plane was filled with passengers who were flown safely home. However, 144 people were left behind, expecting to catch the second plane.
Again they were told there would be a delay - this time until 18:30. At 19:40, with still no sign of a flight, the passengers began to protest. The airport called the police to deal with them and the passengers told the newspaper that they were very aggressive and intimidating. They were eventually seen by an airport manager at 21:30 who told them a flight would be leaving at 01:00.
He asked the travellers to return to the hotel in Dalaman, but they refused. The British Embassy, instead, arranged for them to stay in the VIP lounge until the flight was announced. The promised flight, however, once again failed to materialise, and it was 05:00 before the holidaymakers embarked on their journey home.
When the newspaper tried to contact the holiday company, it was twice cut off after waiting in queues for 20 minutes. On a third attempt, it was told that the entire customer service department was either on leave or on holiday. The managing director did not return their calls.
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