FORMER Strictly star John Whaite has expressed his fury after his flight was cancelled – leaving him stranded in Manchester Airport.
John, who was also crowned winner of the third series of The Great British Bake Off in 2012, was set to jet off to Greece when a major power outage prompted clogging queues and flight cancellations.
The 35-year-old promptly took to Instagram to vent his frustration.
Posting a selfie of himself rolling his eyes, he wrote: “Supposed to be going to Greece today.
“But Manchester Airport is apparently a s**t show and @tuiuk have emailed to say don’t leave home.
“Has anyone got a Greek beach, simulation booth installed in their back garden I could lie in for a week?”
It comes after passengers were left stranded for hours in “utter chaos” after all departing Manchester Airport flights were cancelled.
Screaming kids and marooned flyers have been “kicking off” at airline staff after all flights out of Terminals 1 and 2 were chalked off.
Travellers have shared their nightmare experiences of standing in queues for hours and trying to find luggage amongst a sea of suitcases.
Some furious passengers have reportedly been forced to jet off without their baggage on the plane.
Ian Ellison, 42, told The Sun there were up to 10,000 people in Terminal 2 and described the scene as a “minefield”.
Ellison, his wife and five-year-old child had sat in a plane on the tarmac at Terminal 1 for two hours after arriving from Paphos, Cyprus, at 2.50am.
He said that when his family of three got to baggage claim they found suitcases all throughout the hall with no indication of which carousel had received which flight.
It took his family about 25 minutes to find their bags.
He said: “It was just pure luck my family’s bags were close together, but on different belts.”
“Terminal 2 was absolute chaos… as you walk into it there was people everywhere.”
He said the longer the plane had stayed on the tarmac the more “agitated” passengers became with children screaming and shouting.
“The captain on the plane said he’s never experienced something like that.”
Ellison said that fortunately his boy had fallen asleep across his and his wife’s lap, but it did make him “anxious” that the plane had no food on board.
What are my rights if my flight is cancelled or delayed?
Under UK law, airlines have to provide compensation if your flight arrives at its destination more than three hours late.
If you’re flying to or from the UK, your airline must let you choose a refund or an alternative flight.
You will be able to get your money back for the part of your ticket that you haven’t used yet.
So if you booked a return flight and the outbound leg is cancelled, you can get the full cost of the return ticket refunded.
But if travelling is essential, then your airline has to find you an alternative flight. This could even be with another airline.
When am I not entitled to compensation?
The airline doesn’t have to give you a refund if the flight was cancelled due to reasons beyond their control, such as extreme weather.
Disruptions caused by things like extreme weather, airport or air traffic control employee strikes or other ‘extraordinary circumstances’ are not eligible for compensation.
Some airlines may stretch the definition of the “extraordinary circumstances” but you can challenge them through the aviation regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Will my insurance cover me if my flight is cancelled?
If you can’t claim compensation directly through the airline, your travel insurance may refund you.
Policies vary so you should check the small print, but a delay of eight to 12 hours will normally mean you qualify for some money from your insurer.
Remember to get written confirmation of your delay from the airport as your insurer will need proof.
If your flight is cancelled entirely, you’re unlikely to be covered by your insurance.
He said: “Apparently Border Force wouldn’t send any buses until they had cleared the backlog and moved the backlog from the terminal.”
After finally catching a bus to Terminal 2 at around 5am, Ellison was seen by a man at security, rather than passing through an e-gate.
As he walked through the terminal he found chaos on the other side.
He said: “It was like a minefield.
“Bags were absolutely everywhere with nobody to tell us which belt was where… it was utter chaos.”
He said bag conveyorbelts and computers weren’t working leaving airline staff floundering trying to solve the issue.
“There were queues everywhere.
“When I walked past the Jet2 desk there were people kicking off… they were quoted five hour delays.
“It just seemed like there was no one from Manchester Airport Group there, it looked like the people from the airlines were trying to organise it… you could see the airlines were struggling.”
