'My heart sank when TUI pilot made announcement that began a 17-hour ordeal'
A passenger has recounted his 17-hour ordeal after their plane was diverted due to a couple smoking onboard. Brit Terry Lawrance, 66, said it was like a "war zone" with passengers camped out on rows of airbeds, after his flight home from Cancun, Mexico, on was grounded.
About an hour after take-off on July 8, the captain of the London Gatwick-bound TUI flight announced two passengers had been smoking in the toilets, and that if it continued, he would have to divert. After another three and a half hours, the captain announced the plane would now be diverting to Bangor International Airport, Maine, US.
They landed at 21.30pm local time - and the two alleged smokers were turfed off the flight.
But Terry said the other passengers sat in their seats for another five hours and even taxied to take-off, before the flight was abandoned as the original crew were not able to continue to operate the rest of the flight back to Gatwick due to legal working hours.
Consequently, a relief flight was readied immediately, and a new crew were dispatched from the UK to the US to fly everyone back.
The passengers were then kept in a room - which Terry claims is part of the military airbase section of the airport - for over 15 hours while the airline works to sort a relief crew.
A flight to take passengers home to Gatwick eventually took off at 15:00 local time (20:00 BST) on Wednesday 9th July - with all passengers now safely home.
Videos taken by Terry show rows of beds as passengers awaited updates, whilst another video shows vehicles approaching the plane after touching down in Bangor.
Terry said: "We were there for over 12 hours - it all went pear shaped. Everybody was fed up. In fairness, they started bringing out airbeds, but it was like free-for-all for vultures.
"It was like a warzone in a lounge - rows and rows of beds. All our luggage was still on the plane whilst we waited. TUI told us a relief crew was being sent from the UK because the current crew had used up their hours."
Tracking on Flightradar24 shows the plane turning back towards Maine, shortly after entering Canadian airspace.
Terry said: "After an hour the captain came on and said someone had been smoking in the toilet - he read the riot act and said if it continues, we'd have to divert.
"About three hours later, around the border with Canada and he came on to let us know that the plane was being diverted to Bangor, Maine.
"Once we landed, they removed the two passengers. They were obviously drunk, and he basically assaulted his partner. The captain then said we'd be getting going again once the paperwork has been done.
"We were sat on the plane on the ground for five hours - the plane started taxing again and we thought 'great' and then they said there was a problem with flight plan, and we have to get off. Next thing, we're not going anywhere, and we've got to stay in this small lounge.
"We waited six or seven hours before we were offered a drink."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
4 hours ago
- The Sun
The UK airports most likely to lose your luggage revealed – are you flying from one of them this summer?
BEFORE you set off for your summer holiday, you should check which airline you are flying with - as some are more likely to lose your bags. Certain airports are also worse than others for cancelling flights, according to new research. 1 Southampton Airport most likely to lose your luggage Travel company Bounce examined passenger complaints, cancellation rates, and customer satisfaction from 2022 to 2024. They found that several major UK airports have consistently struggled with luggage handling. And when it comes keeping your bags safe, Southampton Airport topped the list as the UK airport most likely to lose your luggage. According to the research, Southampton had the highest number of baggage complaints, with 0.18 per 100,000 passengers. It also had the highest overall complaint rate at 4.42%, ranked the second worst for flight cancellations at 3.63% and received a low overall rating of three out of ten. London airports Heathrow and Gatwick also ranked poorly for baggage handling, with 0.16 and 0.15 complaints per 100,000 passengers, respectively. Aberdeen airport has the most cancelled flights In terms of cancelled journeys, Aberdeen ranked the worst across the UK, with 4.25% of all departures scrapped in 2024 alone. The Bounce report said: "This equates to more than one in 25 flights being cancelled. "And is more than three times the UK average across all airports in our study, which stands at 1.34%." Although your bags may be in better hands, at Aberdeen airport. Shocking moment drunk passenger, 29, steals airport golf cart and goes on bizarre rampaging joyride through terminal As it only received 0.08% lost luggage complaints per 100,000 passengers for lost bags between 2022 and 2024. It still only received a low overall score of 4.7 out of 10. A spokesperson for Aberdeen International Airport said: 'An airline's decision to reluctantly cancel a flight can be due to a number of factors including weather issues, air traffic congestion, delayed arrivals or technical issues with aircraft. "We will continue to work with our airline partners and their handling agents to support them in improving overall levels of efficiency.' Most problematic airports overall The Bounce study considered multiple factors for its rankings, including Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) complaints. Cancellation rates, flight delay times, and passenger ratings for queuing, cleanliness and navigation. It found Manchester Airport to be the most problematic all round, with an overall score of 2.39 out of 10. The airport scored two out of five for cleanliness, ease of navigation and queuing times – the lowest across each category. It also received a high number of complaints to the Civil Aviation Authority, with 2.59 per 100,000 passengers and an average delay time of 20.01 minutes. Alongside 0.15 lost luggage complaints per 100,000 passengers. London Gatwick earned the second lowest overall rating of the study, receiving just 2.6 out of ten. It also recorded a high cancellation rate of 1.43% and had the highest average flight delay of 23 minutes reports The Metro. Southampton Airport followed closely, ranking as the third most problematic airport overall, with a rating of just 3.01 out of 10. Cody Candee, CEO and Founder at Bounce said: "This research shows that UK airports have a lot of room for improvement when it comes to providing an efficient and streamlined service to travellers. "This poor performance puts a lot of pressure on flyers who have to navigate the often confusing airport signage and long security queuing times. "With this in mind, travellers should prepare appropriately for their airport experience to be as straightforward as possible."
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Bournemouth airport could shut down as workers vote on strikes
By Bournemouth Airport could be shut down next month as almost 80 workers are voting on whether to strike over pay. The workers, members of the UK's leading union Unite, include plane fuellers, baggage handlers, security and check-in staff and flight dispatchers amongst others. With workers in so many sections of the airport involved in the dispute, any strikes would close the airport. In turn, all flights would be grounded and flights into the airport would also be delayed or cancelled. Bournemouth Airport serves over 950,000 passengers a year and offers flights to 34 direct destinations across Europe and North Africa primarily operated by airlines such as TUI and Ryanair. Flight routes to and from the airport include popular holiday destinations such as Tenerife, Rhodes and Faro. Unite members have unanimously rejected a pay offer of 4.5 per cent for the lowest paid bringing them up to £12.22 per hour, and 3 per cent for the higher paid members. They have claimed the reason for this is they have struggled with the cost of living crisis and believe that the increased costs of essentials has equated to a real terms pay cut. They've also noted that Bournemouth Airport is profitable, having increased all of its airport charges by 5 per cent this year, and invested over £50 million in expanding the airport due to increased passenger numbers. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: 'Bournemouth Airport is putting its own interests over those of the workers. 'We appreciate it is investing in its future, but members must not be left behind in the pursuit of that. 'Our hardworking members deserve a fair pay rise and Unite will back them every step of the way.' The ballot closes on 20 August, and any strike action could happen as early as the first week of September. Regional officer Janet Wall said: 'We recognise that any flight cancellations and delays would be extremely disruptive and frustrating for travellers but our members feel they have had no choice but to start balloting for strike action. 'This is entirely the fault of the employer, who is financially prospering while our members struggle to afford the basics. 'We urge Bournemouth Airport to come back to the table and present Unite with a meaningful offer to avoid strikes.' It comes as major strikes are set to hit 12 airports across Spain. The walkouts involve Azul Handling, part of the Ryanair group who provide baggage handlers to several Spanish airports, and have been called by the General Union of Workers (UGT). They are in response to claims of 'constant breaches' of labour rights and 'continuous precariousness'. Barcelona, Valencia , Madrid, Seville, Alicante, Ibiza, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife South, Girona, Lanzarote and Santiago de Compestela airports are set to be affected.
Telegraph
5 hours ago
- Telegraph
Birmingham airport shuts after plane makes emergency landing
Birmingham airport has shut after a private aircraft made an emergency landing. All departures and arrivals have been stopped until 6pm after a twin-engined Beech King Air, which had been heading to Belfast, declared an in-flight emergency and diverted to Birmingham. Pictures from the scene show a Beech King Air stopped on what appears to be Birmingham's main runway. Its landing gear appears to have collapsed. Emergency crews are on the scene. Data from Flight Radar 24 suggests the aircraft that made the emergency landing was a Beech King Air 200. This is the same type of plane that crashed at Southend airport in July, killing all four people aboard.
