Holidaymakers stranded for 36 hours

Hundreds of British holidaymakers suffered 36 hour delays at the start of their trips to Spain’s Mallorca this week as Thomas Cook explained that flights were delayed due to ‘crew shortages’. Arriving at Bristol airport in the early hours of Sunday morning to catch flights to Ibiza (6am) and Palma de Mallorca (6.45am), the passengers were left stranded for hours with no explanation.

They were informed at the check-in desks that flights were delayed and were forced to spend the next 11 hours waiting for information.

After a lengthy wait the passengers were then taken to the Mercure Holland House Hotel in Redcliffe, Bristol.

Airport staff told them they would be picked up at 10am the following morning for replacement flights.

However, things were set to get worse. The promised bus failed to show up, with the 250 or so would-be-holiday-makers waiting for an explanation.

Yesterday (Monday), they were finally picked up and taken back to the airport, where they waited for another five hours before eventually taking off.

Furious families have said that their holidays have been ruined beyond repair and criticised Thomas Cook for failing to update them with information during the lengthy delay.

A spokesperson for Thomas Cook Airlines said that the company was offering an ‘unreserved apology’ for the delay, which was caused by ‘the impact of short-term availability of crew, including sickness’.

Following EU regulations, passengers will be able to claim up to 400 Euros per person in compensation.