A British family from Shrewsbury was stranded at Larnaca Airport in Cyprus for nearly 24 hours after their TUI flight to Manchester was severely delayed. Rio Hurlstone, 41, her husband, and their 11-year-old twin daughters were among hundreds of passengers caught in the travel chaos.
The family's nightmare began when their midnight Friday flight was delayed due to a hydraulics failure on a baggage loader. They finally boarded at 3am Saturday morning, only to sit on the tarmac for over two hours as the faulty equipment remained trapped behind their aircraft.
Crew time limits exceeded
The situation worsened around 5am when the flight crew exceeded their legal flying limits and required approximately 12 hours of mandatory rest. Passengers were told coaches and hotels would be arranged, but many families found themselves abandoned in the airport terminal instead.
Children were forced to sleep on the airport's cold marble floor, using paper bags as makeshift blankets and pillows. The metal chairs with armrests made lying down impossible, leaving families with no comfortable sleeping options during their extended wait.
Inadequate compensation offered
TUI provided food vouchers totalling just 46 euros over the ordeal - 11 euros initially, 15 euros at 6am, and 20 euros at 5:15pm. Passengers complained the amounts were insufficient given the high airport prices and extended duration of their stay.
The airline arranged 90 hotel rooms an hour away from the airport, distributed according to a priority system that many passengers couldn't access. Rio said she "didn't even try" to secure accommodation through this system.
Passenger anger erupts
"It kicked off big style. People were shouting 'you can't treat us like this, we're not animals'," Rio said. The temperature outside reached 40 degrees, making it impossible for passengers to leave without their luggage and proper clothing.
"This is a family flight, there are loads of tiny kids. Everyone has had to try and sleep on the floor," Rio explained. She described feeling "really mad" about being "abandoned by your tour operator for so many hours."
The flight was eventually rescheduled for 1:15am Sunday morning (August 24) Cypriot time. TUI has been contacted for comment on the incident and passenger treatment during the extended delay.
Sources used: "Daily Star", "Mirror", "Manchester Evening News" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
