Family stuck in Turkey left £3,500 out of Pocket

A family of six stuck in Turkey due to a UK air traffic control failure were left £3,500 out of pocket to return home.

Shamila Kauser travelled to Antalya with her husband and their four children as well as her brother and his family.

The 40-year-old from Rochdale said she was “stressed out” after they were scheduled to fly home on August 28, 2023, but ended up staying five days longer.

Shamila said booking one flight for her family was “impossible” and she ended up spending £3,500 with a different airline in an attempt to arrange the next available flight home.

Calling the ordeal “a nightmare”, she said:

“I’m stressed out and very anxious. It’s been a nightmare.”

Shamila found a booking, costing more than £3,500, and she is unsure if she will be reimbursed.

She took the booking because she feared she would not be able to return to the UK until September 8 due to a lack of available flights.

But her travel provider, On The Beach, was able to find a flight at 11:55 pm on September 1 for her family with Jet2 Airlines, despite them initially flying with easyJet.

Shamila explained: “On The Beach had to book me with another airline because easyJet had no seats until September 8.

“I’ve got to go to work and the kids have to go to school, so I don’t have time to be waiting that long.”

The family originally flew from Manchester Airport to Turkey.

They ended up returning to the UK at Leeds Bradford Airport, adding more travel time and expenses.

Shamila’s brother Imran Ahmed and his family were forced to stay in Turkey until September 2 after their flight was cancelled an hour before they were due to return.

Imran travelled with his wife Nazia and his two daughters.

They felt they were left “totally in the dark” after no airline representatives helped with their unexpected cancellation.

Imran, who travelled with easyJet, said:

“I’ve never been in this situation before. There was no rep from the airline.”

“Travel Republic – the travel operator that we went with – they had nobody there either. We were just left to our own devices.”

Despite the cancellation, he considered himself “lucky” to find an easyJet flight to Liverpool Airport on September 2.

He added: “I was lucky I got flights with easyJet without having to pay extra.”