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EasyJet passengers were left stranded for hours in Manchester and Milan on Friday after their flight to Türkiye was diverted midair, delaying their arrival in Antalya by over 12 hours, according to the Independent.
Passengers on flight EZY2141 were initially stuck at Manchester Airport for more than four hours after the pilot cancelled the flight just ten minutes before it was due to depart.
The flight had been scheduled to leave Manchester at 7:45 a.m. local time (6:45 a.m. GMT), but customers were made to return to the terminal because of air traffic control restrictions caused by adverse weather across Europe, the airline said.
Passengers eventually boarded the plane, only to be told while in the air that it was diverting more than 1,200 miles (1,931 kilometers) to Milan. EasyJet said the delay would have pushed the crew to exceed their legally permitted working hours, making a stop in Milan necessary to replace the crew and refuel.
The disruption continued once the flight reached Italy. Passengers arrived in Milan just after 2:00 p.m. local time (12:00 p.m. GMT) but did not depart for Antalya until 8:30 p.m. local time (6:30 p.m. GMT), as they waited for a new crew to arrive. EasyJet gave passengers €25 as food vouchers to cover the wait.
An EasyJet spokesperson said, "We are sorry for any inconvenience this will have caused and did all we could to minimize the impact of the disruption. The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is always EasyJet's highest priority." The airline did not say whether passengers were entitled to compensation or a refund.
Speaking from Milan, James Lanson, who was traveling with his wife and two-year-old daughter, told the Manchester Evening News, "I used to work as a prison officer and the prison that I used to work in kept the prisoners in better condition."
Lanson said the family had expected to arrive in Antalya by noon, giving them a full day to enjoy what was meant to be a seven-day holiday, now cut to six. "We've been told the crew that is coming to fly our plane to take us to Antalya is coming from Manchester. No one's given us any information. All they've done is given us a voucher," he added.
Manchester Airport declined to comment.
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