Tui Zante flight returns to Cardiff as airport closed

Passengers heading to Greece had their holiday cut short after they returned mid-flight to Cardiff as the destination airport was closed.

Already frustrated as the flight left five hours after its scheduled time, passengers were excited to jet off on their Tui flight on 19 July.

Holidaymakers on the flight were “appalled” after the pilot continued to take off despite knowing about the night curfew at Zante airport.

Tui has been approached for comment.

Georgia Rees, from Pencoed, was headed off to Zakynthos for her first holiday with friends, to celebrate the end of A-levels, but was left disappointed as her holiday was cancelled.

The 18-year-old was making monthly payments and working extra hours through stressful exams to pay for the holiday.

She claims that despite the initial delay caused by IT issues, the real reason they had to return was due to the company error.

“Complete lack of communication from TUI. They gave us no alternative and it was absolutely appalling,” she said.

“We were told that a crew member left due to ‘personal reasons’, and we had to wait for a replacement which meant we would land at Zante past 10.

“Despite the pilot’s knowledge, he continued to take off,” she said.

Georgia added that upon their return, the crew announced the Tui customer service number over the tannoy and asked people to ring the company.

“There was very little compassion from workers, and they are unable to confirm a definite refund or any compensation to us,” she said.

On Friday, a global tech failure caused travel chaos around the world, with banking and healthcare services also badly hit.

Flights were grounded, with long queues, delays and flight cancellations at airports around the world, as passengers had to be manually checked in.

Cardiff Airport’s CEO Spencer Birns said that due to global IT issue, it has resulted in some flight delays at the airport.

“We understand that Tui are communicating to passengers directly and their dedicated customer service line is available from 9am to make alternative plans and for customers to know their rights,” he added.