Raw Deal: Couple treated like “animals” in airport floor collapse aftermath

ROBERT and Cecilia White’s holiday to Majorca didn’t exactly get off to the best of starts.

The couple’s flight from Manchester Airport to Palma with Tui was delayed when the temporary departure lounge floor started to collapse, just before they were due to board the plane.

Emergency services were called out and the couple, from Stalybridge, Tameside, were evacuated to the tarmac for two hours along with other passengers after a crack appeared in the floor.

But the departure drama paled by comparison with the couple’s experience on the way home, after a two-week break in Cala Bona.

When the aircraft that was due to fly them back at noon landed in Palma, one of the emergency slides was accidently deployed.

“The problems that arose because of this couldn’t be rectified,” said Robert, a 70-year-old retired area manager for a food firm. The captain visited the departure lounge to explain that, although the plane was safe to fly, he couldn’t take all the passengers.

He asked for 80 volunteers to stand down and go on the next available flight and he offered any volunteers a payment of £150 each.

“We eventually agreed to do it because we are retired and we were in no big rush,” said Robert.

“We also thought that the £300 compensation could go towards our next holiday.”

The couple were told they would be taken to a hotel for the night, while an alternative flight would be organised for the next day. But the Whites were disappointed when they discovered their luggage was on their original flight to Manchester, which had already departed.

“From that moment on, we were treated worse than animals,” claimed Robert.

“We’d had nothing to eat since 8am and were offered no food or even a drink.

“We were eventually taken by taxi to a Palma hotel about 8pm and given a room and dinner.”

However, after finally getting something to eat, they were then told that the arrangements had changed.

They were advised they were now going to be picked up at midnight and would be on a flight back to Manchester at 2am.

“We didn’t get back until six in the morning, 16 hours later than planned, and we hardly had a wink of sleep,” said Robert.

Following the ordeal, the couple were paid €400 compensation each for the delay, as per EU regulations.

But, despite numerous letters to Tui, they did not receive the extra £300 offered by the captain.

“We felt we were being ignored,” said Robert. “We were furious because if we hadn’t volunteered to stay behind, the plane would not have left Majorca and Tui would have been required to pay the EU compensation to all passengers on the flight.”

At this point, Raw Deal stepped in. Within a few days, Tui had agreed to stump up the outstanding cash.

A Tui spokesman said: “We would like to apologise to Mr White for the delayed payment as a result of a system error.

“We can confirm payment has now been raised and we have contacted the customer directly to apologise and update him on the situation.”

Robert thanked Raw Deal for bringing the matter to a speedy conclusion and said he and Cecilia were now looking forward to their next trip to Majorca.