My family-of-5 missed out on dream £2,300 holiday thanks to ‘absolute chaos’ at airport…despite arriving 3 hours early
A FAMILY-of-five missed out on their dream £2,300 holiday thanks to “absolute chaos” at the airport – leaving one man’s kids in tears.
Sławomir Adamczyk, from Staffordshire, is now demanding a refund after he claims the airport was too busy for his family to reach the flight.
Sławomir told StokeonTrentLive that the family was set to to jet off from Birmingham International Airport and spend five sunny nights in the Spanish city of Malaga – before disaster struck.
The 42-year-old, his wife, and his children aged two, seven, and 15, arrived two hours and 55 minutes early, at 3.50am, for the Easter Sunday flight.
The family’s luggage was checked in by 4.11am, but the hold up began when the family tried to go through security.
Sławomir said that because of construction work the only way for passengers to get to the security control area was by using just one lift.
After the wait for that, he described security as “absolutely crazy” with staff calling passengers for certain flights in departure order.
He said: “My children were all in tears when this happened. A lot of people were shouting and kids were crying. It was absolutely crazy. When I looked behind, the whole area was filled up with people, everywhere was absolutely blocked.”
By the time they were able to pass through security and make it to the gate, he and his family were too late.
He said 51 other passengers were also late: “They told us ‘Sorry guys, but they shut the door’. The people at Ryanair said nothing to us.”
The family then had to collect their luggage from the carousel and go to the customer service desk.
Sławomir said: “They had enough time to take our luggage out and put it on the carousels but not enough time to let us on board. We could have easily got on that plane.”
They then waiting an hour and a half at the passenger desk, only to find out the plane was then delayed to 7.40am.
At the desk the family were offered the next available flight which was three days later and that also came with a fee of £100.
He said: “I thought it was ridiculous, it is not even our fault and they’re trying to charge us again.”
Sławomir says he has now complained to Ryanair.
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “Due to airport security delays at Birmingham Airport, Ryanair passengers were advised via email (30 Mar) to arrive at least 3 hours before their scheduled departure time.
“We regret that these airport security delays at Birmingham Airport, which are entirely out of our control, caused passengers to miss this flight from Birmingham to Malaga (31 Mar).”
A spokesperson for Birmingham Airport said: “We are very sorry to hear about Slawomir and his family’s experience at Birmingham Airport.
“We can confirm that his complaint is now with our Complaints Resolution Team, who are investigating further to identify the failing on the day. We have also reached out to Slawomir for further details.”
What happens if you miss your flight and how much it could cost you
MISSING a flight is one of the worst ways to start a holiday, with motorway crashes to forgotten passports some of the most common hold ups.
However, all is not lost as some airlines will offer free rebooking if you want to get on the next flight, while others will only charge a small fee.
Ryanair offer a Missed Departure Fee, at a cost of £100, to book passengers onto the next available flight.
But there is a catch – you have to be at the ticket desk within one hour of your scheduled departure time.
If you’re on a package holiday and your tour operator hasn’t got you to the airport on time, it is their responsibility to move you onto the next available flight at their own expense.
Meanwhile, most travel insurance policies include missed flights – and should cover any expenses incurred booking new flights etc.
The maximum you can claim for missed flights is normally £1,000 – and you need to have a valid reason.
These can, but don’t always, include public transport delays and car break-downs or crashes. They don’t include oversleeping, sorry.
Anyone who misses a flight can also reclaim their Air Passenger Duty tax. This can be up to £78 for an economy flight.
Passengers who miss their outbound flight are having their return journeys automatically cancelled due to a “no-show” clause.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have advised passengers that they could even sue the airline if they are not told about their cancelled return flight.
However, the success of the claim depends on a number of factors, such as the assistance offered by the airline or whether staff are able to waive any fees for cancelled flights.