EasyJet passenger furious after being stranded at airport when flight was cancelled two days running

Traveller called airline’s customer service ‘diabolical’

Passengers queue outside Manchester Airport in June 2022 (Reuters)

An angry passenger who had his flight home cancelled by easyJet two days in a row has vowed never to book with the airline again.

Bobby Bessant, 33, was due to fly from Manchester to Aberdeen on the evening of 30 June when his flight was cancelled and rescheduled for the following day. The rescheduled flight was also cancelled, with easyJet blaming the cancellations on “problems with staffing” and an “air traffic control issue”, according to the Manchester Evening News.

Bessant posted about the experience on Instagram, sharing a picture of his smartwatch with a message telling him that the flight had been cancelled, as well as a caption that read, “Thanks EasyJet! Two days running now!”

The cancelled flights “ruined what was a good break”, according to Bessant, who said that he was fortunate to be able to stay with friends in Manchester.

He referred to easyJet’s customer service as “diabolical”, remarking that the airline “left people stranded in the airport” on the evening on 1 July. Both flights were delayed for around three hours before ultimately being cancelled.

Bessant was particularly aggrieved to see easyJet staff leaving the terminal before any announcement about the cancellation was made to passengers.

He finally departed Manchester Airport on the morning of 4 July, having shared further photos of the airport and the plane on Instagram with the captions: “Manchester airport absolute chaos this morning!” and “Boarded with five seconds to spare! Manchester airport is an absolute joke!”

A spokesperson for easyJet said: “We are very sorry for Mr Bessant’s experience on his flights with us from Manchester to Aberdeen. His original flight from Manchester to Aberdeen was unfortunately cancelled due to air traffic control restrictions which meant the crew due to operate the flight reached their maximum legal operating hours.

“While this was outside of our control, we did all possible to minimise the impact of this and gave customers the option of transferring their flight free of charge or receiving a refund as well as providing hotel accommodation and meals where required. We rescheduled the flight for the following day, however, it was cancelled due to the crew unable to operate the flight without exceeding their legally permitted flying hours after assisting a passenger with a medical issue.

“Unfortunately no replacement crew were available to operate the flight. While we notify customers directly and provide options to rebook or receive a refund as well as hotel accommodation and meals, we fully understand the difficulty this disruption will have caused and are very sorry for this.”

This incident comes following a slew of cancellations of easyJet flights at the end of the summer half-term break in early June, and the cancellation of hundreds more flights this summer as the airline struggles to deliver its promised schedule. EasyJet blames staffing issues as the aviation industry ramps up to its former capacity following the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Civil Aviation Authority last month told airlines that passengers whose flights are cancelled should be able to travel on the same day if any seat is available – including on rival carriers. But easyJet maintains that if it can offer an alternative within 24 hours it need not pay for flights on other airlines.