Passengers were left ‘gobsmacked’ after cockroaches found on a TUI plane caused two flights to be severely delayed.
Holidaymakers flying to and from Tenerife and Gatwick had their flights delayed for 8 hours on September 15 due to a cockroach problem on their plane, despite initially being told the delay was down to ‘catering issues’.
Enraged passengers are now planning to take the travel firm to court after TUI refused to compensate them for disruption, citing ‘extraordinary circumstances.’
Michelle Coates, 57, a foster parent who was stuck in Tenerife while the plane was fumigated and an alternative plane was found, said: ‘I was gobsmacked. How did the cockroaches get on there? That is a worry for their hygiene.
‘It is just disgusting to try and fob it off on the customers.
‘TUI say it is not their fault. Well, it is their fault. If I invite someone round to dinner at my house and there’s a cockroach that’s my fault.
‘We are loyal customers that spend a lot of money and have to spend a lot more as a result of their negligence.’
Michelle Coates and her husband, David, were coming to the end of their £1100-a-head holiday when they were taken from the airport to a hotel by TUI staff and made to wait hours to board their flight.
The couple had to fork out for new swimming costumes to replace their English weather clothing in the 30 degree heat, and had to pay £150 for their foster children to be looked after for another night.
Passengers were initially told that the reason for the disruption was ‘catering issues’ in the aircraft still at London Gatwick.
Once they were sat on the plane at 19:30, eight hours after the original scheduled take-off, the pilot informed them that cockroaches on the initial plane had been real cause of the disruption.
Michelle’s TOM7475 flight had been the second flight delayed due to the pest control problem that day, as passengers flying earlier from Gatwick to Tenerife had also been delayed 8 hours while the plane was treated with chemicals.
The pair waited 72 hours after the flight home, as instructed by TUI, to submit a claim for compensation, however she did not receive confirmation and was told that TUI’s online support chat could not progress her claim.
She was eventually told on October 17 that she would not be receiving compensation for the costs of the disruption because of ‘extraordinary circumstances.’
Michelle said in response to TUI’s refusal to compensate her: ‘It has really pissed me off quite frankly, I would certainly think twice about using TUI again. This is the first problem we have had with them.’
The foster parent is now part of a group of passengers from both flights affected by the delays, who have all been refused reimbursement by TUI and want to take the firm to court.
Donna Maria, 43, is another member of this group whose flight home from Tenerife left her and her 18-year-old daughter, Sascha, abandoned late at night at Gatwick airport.
After celebrating Sascha’s birthday in Tenerife, the pair’s journey home was delayed by the cockroach discovery.
They landed in Gatwick shortly before midnight and missed their last train home to Bexhill in East Sussex, while claiming they were offered no support by TUI staff to get home safely.
Donna said: ‘To leave two young ladies stranded like that at an airport with no transport home. It was out of order.
‘I was scared how long we were going to be left at the airport. It was worrying.
‘Cockroaches do not develop out of thin air, they take a while to develop. For me they are not cleaning their areas, or there is a bigger problem and they are just using that as a lame excuse.’
With Sascha starting her first day of college the next day, Donna eventually had to fork out for an expensive taxi home, after she had already paid thousands for the original holiday.
Her initial claim form received no response, and her reimbursement request was eventually also rejected due to the ‘extraordinary circumstances’ exemption.
In the email sent by TUI to passengers claiming compensation, the company said: ‘Your flight experience with us extends to us caring for your health and safety. We follow the Guidance and Good Practice for Operational Health and Safety Onboard as laid out by the CAA.
In this instance, despite all reasonable steps and precautions taken, control mechanisms identified the need to carry out urgent decontamination. This was required in order to prevent contamination and spread of potential threat to health, so that your onward journey could continue as quickly as possible.
An operating air carrier shall not be obliges to pay compensation in accordance with Article 7, if it can prove that the delay is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.’
TUI added: ‘Having considered the events surrounding the delay to your flight, we can confirm that no further compensation will be arranged.
The ordeal left Donna so angry that has vowed never to fly with TUI again.
Vowing to take TUI to court, she added: ‘Just wish it could be all over and we get the compensation we are entitled to.’
A TUI UK & I spokesman said: ‘We’d like to apologise to passengers on TOM4744 who were delayed on their journey.
‘Our goal is to ensure our customers have the best possible start to their holiday, and we recognise that this wasn’t the case.
‘Customers were provided with funds to purchase a drink or snack at the airport during the delay, and we’d like to thank them for their patience during this time.’
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