East Lothian family 'taken off plane' as EasyJet apologise for last minute cancellation
An East Lothian family have spoken of their dissapointment after being taken off an EasyJet flight moments before their long-awaited summer holiday.
Emma Drummond, along with her partner and 12-year-old son, were due to fly to Amsterdam on Sunday evening. 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 hotel in Amsterdam and the ticket price for the Anne Frank House - both of which were not refundable. EasyJet have explained the last minute cancellation, telling Edinburgh Live that it was down 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, would have had to spend over £400 on any other available flights to make their holiday happen, and would have been left with only one full day - so decided to cancel the whole trip. Emma says she's 'spent so much money to see her 12-year-old disappointed'.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live, Emma said: "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.
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"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.
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"It's just cost me so much money to see my 12-year-old so disappointed."
An EasyJet spokesperson said: "Flight EZY3303 from Edinburgh to Amsterdam on 6 July was cancelled due to Air Traffic Control restrictions as a result of adverse weather conditions, which resulted in the crew reaching their legally regulated operating hours.
"We did all we could to minimise the impact of the weather disruption on our customers, providing options to rebook or obtain a refund, and have processed a refund for the Drummond family as requested.
"We will be reaching out to the Drummond family to offer support, including providing the documentation needed to make a claim with their insurance provider. The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is easyJet's highest priority and while this was outside of our control, we are sorry for the inconvenience caused."
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