Family booted off easyJet plane as flight cancelled moments before take off
A family has told how they were all ready to leave on holiday onboard an EasyJet flight when suddenly it was cancelled leaving their son, 12, hugely disappointed.
Emma Drummond, her partner and their boy, were due to fly to Amsterdam on Sunday evening, July 6, but after boarding the plane, they were instructed to get off with their flight then cancelled. While they've been refunded for the flight, Emma and her family have now lost out on their holiday as well as the money spent on their non-refundable hotel in Amsterdam and tickets for the Anne Frank House.
EasyJet said the last minute cancellation was due to "air Traffic Control restrictions as a result of adverse weather conditions" which resulted in the crew "reaching their legally regulated operating hours".
The Drummond family, from Musselburgh, East Lothian, would have had to fork out over £400 on other flights to make their holiday happen, and would have been left with only one full day - so were forced to cancel the whole trip.
Emma says she's 'spent so much money to see her 12-year-old disappointed'. She told EdinburghLive: "We were booked in to the 6.30pm flight to Amsterdam on July 6.
"We boarded the flight, but were then told to disembark 20 minutes later. Now we have lost of hotel money and tickets we booked for Anne Frank's house, which I can't get refunded on.
"We were only going for four days, so now the whole thing has been cancelled. We couldn't move our flight, we were only being offered a refund or vouchers.
"We did check for any other available flights however it would have cost us another £143 each (there was 3 of us so £429) and we wouldn't arrive until 10pm on Monday. Which still means our Anne Frank tickets have gone to waste.
"Also we're due to fly home Wednesday, so would have one full day. That's only on the assumption the flight then would have left with no issues.
"Hotel messaged at 7am and cancelled our room as we hadn't checked in. So we would also need to find another room at my own cost on top of all the flight stuff. It's just cost me so much money to see my 12-year-old so disappointed."
An easyJet spokesperson told The Mirror: 'Flight EZY3303 from Edinburgh to Amsterdam on 6 July was unable to operate due to Air Traffic Control restrictions in place a result of adverse weather conditions, which led to the crew reaching their safety regulated operating hours.
'The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is our highest priority and we did all we could to minimise the impact of the weather disruption, providing options to rebook for free or receive refund.
'We have already refunded the Drummond family and have been in touch to offer further assistance, including providing the documentation needed to make a claim with their insurance provider. While this was outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused.'
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