Jet2 passengers put on wrong flight leaving them furious in Menorca – instead of on holiday in Mallorca (Image: SWNS)
In a shocking blunder, two women have lambasted Jet2 after their much-anticipated holiday was “ruined” when they were accidentally flown to Menorca instead of their intended destination, Majorca. Despite having their boarding passes checked on five separate occasions, the grave mistake was only realised as the pilot announced the approach to Menorca, as reported by the Mirror.
Linda Trestrail, 69, and Wendy Russell, 71, are in uproar against Jet2 for the oversight that saw them board the incorrect flight, despite undergoing multiple checks. The airline has since apologised for the incident, citing “human error” and issues with the special assistance provider at Bristol Airport.
Yet, the duo is aggrieved by the “catalogue of disasters” they faced and claim they have not received any compensation.
Linda expressed her disbelief: “You hear of bags going on the wrong flights but not people. The reason we booked Majorca is because of the short flight, we knew our mobility wasn’t good so didn’t want to do much travelling – we are disabled pensioners.”
She added, frustratedly: “You get compensated if you get delayed or lose luggage – but they lost us, not the bloody baggage. Jet2 holidays, the package holidays you can trust – yeah right.”, reports Leicestershire Live.
The pair, who required wheelchair assistance, recounted how they were escorted onto the shuttle bus and aircraft at Bristol Airport, showing their boarding passes at various checkpoints including the luggage desk, security, the gate desk, and to a ground crew member on the bus who even counted passengers.
The disabled pensioners had boarding passes for a flight to Mallorca, but ended up in Menorca after a serious error (Image: SWNS)
Reflecting on the bewildering incident, she recounted: “Jet2 are the only ones who do double security check on tickets – so they did that, and then we were directed to our seats on the flight. A cabin crew member asked if we were in the right seats, I said yes but she took our tickets away and confirmed we were in the correct seats.”
“Then the captain says we’re landing in Menorca in 10 minutes! Chaos ensued. I cried to Wendy, ‘Oh my god, Wendy! He said Menorca not Majorca! I told the flight attendant we were on the wrong plane – and she burst out laughing.”
“Our tickets were checked five times – even by the flight attendant twice on the plane. Two passengers had flown from Bristol Airport to Menorca – and Jet2 didn’t even know who was on their plane.”
It turned out that three seats on that flight were unoccupied, with Wendy and Linda unwittingly taking two of them, sitting in the numbered seats they were assigned for their intended trip to Palma De Majorca. The astonished pair were told to stay put as the captain began his announcement, admitting it was the first time he’d come across such a situation in his career.
Jet2’s CEO Steve Heapy has gone above and beyond, offering to personally escort the ladies to Majorca. Linda shared that he “was going mental”, voicing serious security concerns which barred them from flying back to Majorca or remaining on the same aircraft.
Wendy, who has been through three brain surgeries and suffers from arthritis, expressed her exasperation: “We went through five major checks there and no one picked up the error – it begs the question about what is going on. They are banging on about security, security, security – but we could’ve been anybody.”
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Adding insult to injury, Wendy revealed their bags had somehow made it to Mallorca without them: “I had my injection in my suitcase – our families were so worried. Our luggage was on the right plane as it took off with two bags without the passengers – that’s so concerning. They are allegedly so concerned about the seriousness of it, but whichever way you look at it it’s a major breach of security. Two suitcases that could have had anything in them.”
With the “kind assistance” of a Jet2 manager, the women faced a long wait at Menorca airport before they were able to catch an internal flight with other staff members. When they finally arrived at Palma de Majorca, they were privately driven to their holiday resort.
Linda recounted their ordeal: “We were supposed to be at the resort for 1pm – but neither of us knew what time it was by now. The transport coach we had booked had gone hours and hours ago – and from minute we left home it was around 17 hours later our feet and legs were like balloons. Then the Jet2 rep at the resort wouldn’t even meet us there, she called me and said she had left – and apparently didn’t have time to see to two disabled pensioners – I was furious.”
Their journey, which should have taken a mere five hours, turned into an exhausting 17-hour saga from the moment they departed. Upon finally arriving at their destination, the weary pensioners managed to find some respite in their room.
Yet, their troubles were far from over, as Linda described them being in “such an awful state”.
Wendy and Linda are still seeking compensation for the chaos that marred their holiday. Wendy expressed her disappointment: “You put your faith in these people and when you think of the checks, with tickets passed backwards and forwards plus they were checked again on the plane. There were two Jet2 planes at fault and Bristol Airport. Luckily it was trauma for us – but for someone else, it could have been a lot worse – a lot worse, and this should never happen again.”
According to Jet2, they have issued an apology. A representative stated: “We would like to offer our sincere apologies to Ms Trestrail and Ms Russell for this incident. This is an extremely isolated incident and although there was no security risk, we have of course investigated it as a matter of urgency, including with the third-party special assistance provider. We can confirm that the customers went through security correctly, and their luggage was also screened correctly.”
“However, after these checks the customers were taken to the incorrect aircraft, which is the responsibility of the third-party special assistance provider at the airport. Upon boarding the aircraft, the incorrect destination on their boarding passes was unfortunately not identified and we apologise for this oversight which was down to human error.”
“We have carried out additional training with the team to ensure this does not happen again. As soon as we learned of the issue, our team booked Mses. Trestrail and Russell onto the soonest available flight from Menorca to Majorca and they also provided all the assistance they could both throughout their journey and the rest of their holiday. We have been in touch with Ms Trestrail and Ms Russell to offer an appropriate gesture of goodwill and once again offer our sincere apologies. We understand they are due to travel with us once again this year, and we look forward to welcoming them onboard and delivering the usual VIP customer experience that we are recognised for.”
A spokesperson for Bristol Airport expressed gratitude for the issue being highlighted, stating: “Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention, we will continue to work with the airline and the special assistance provider to further investigate the circumstances and introduce improvements for the future.”
