Nathan Straeker and his girlfriend, Adrienn Fuscsics, had been looking forward all summer to their one holiday of the year, to Mallorca. But bad luck was to strike not once but twice as their flights were cancelled due to inclement weather and then air traffic control failures.
The couple had arrived at Bristol airport on Sunday afternoon from Porth, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, excited to start their holiday. But heavy storms in Mallorca meant the Ryanair flight was delayed to later in the evening and then cancelled.
Not to be deterred, they stayed in a Travelodge in Bristol city centre and booked themselves on to an easyJet flight to Palma on Monday evening. But when the air traffic control issues began, they were told the flight would be delayed to Tuesday morning, and then that it too was cancelled.
“We’ve given up on going abroad,” said Fuscsics, 36. “We don’t want to risk it. We’re hoping to find somewhere in the UK now, like Cornwall or Devon.”
Straeker, 31, said he was a nervous flyer and this had not made it any easier. They had secured full refunds from Ryanair for the original flight and from On the Beach, the tour operator providing the accommodation in Mallorca, and they were trying to get their money back from easyJet.
Breeze Bond, a body piercer from Torquay, was one of eight women trying to travel to Ibiza for a hen do waiting for answers, with the bride-to-be left in tears.
The party actually boarded the 1.20pm Ryanair flight to the Balearic island but then the plane was emptied again.
“As we sat down, they told us they missed the flight takeoff time and it could take up to eight hours,” she said, while waiting on hold to Ryanair customer services. They told us all flights had been cancelled so we’ve come back into the airport. We went to Ryanair, and we were told there was no management. We don’t know if it’s delayed or cancelled.
“We all got into taxis into Bristol centre, but then we heard there might still be flights on so we’ve turned around and come back.”
Of the bride, Bond said: “She’s been in tears, she’s absolutely gutted.”
Rosie Gauge, 31, was trying to return to her home in Lyon, where she is an English teacher, after visiting family but her flight had been cancelled.
She said she was extremely frustrated as she attempted to rebook to a different destination. “It’s very stressful and there is no customer service available,” she said.
There was a loud groan as airport staff announced that no more bags were to be checked in until further notice. Cries of confusion then followed when less than 10 minutes later, after dozens of passengers had shuffled out of line, the staff announced that the bag drop-off was open again.
By mid-afternoon, the departure boards were lit up with bright orange and red indicating delays and cancellations. Delays ranged from one hour to four on flights to destinations including Tenerife, Dalaman, Alicante, Bordeaux, Belfast, Copenhagen and Burgas.
The arrivals board showed a similar level of disruption with numerous flights delayed, six cancelled and one – from Guernsey – diverted. Wait times ranged from two-and-a-half to four hours on flights from Ibiza, Palma, Funchal and Dublin.
Despite the delays, the airport was relatively calm and there was no sign of long queues passing through security: screens showed a wait time of six minutes. Some flights were getting through, with flights to Jersey and Enfidha boarding.
An airport spokesperson said: “Bristol airport like other UK airports has been affected by the National Air Traffic Services technical issue, which is impacting UK airspace. We are working with the airline partners to provide the latest information to customers as it becomes available. Customers are advised to contact their airline directly to check the latest flight information for their flight, and prior to leaving for the airport.”