David Galloway, 58, and his partner Bev, 54, from Rotherham experienced a nightmare start to their holiday when plans to go to their original destination were cancelled
Dense fog has led to lengthy delays for passengers headed to Manchester Airport with “sick” passengers being left stranded on a plane.
David Galloway, 58, and his partner Bev, 54, had been set to fly out to Cape Verde on December 20 but their TUI flight was cancelled the night before. The couple found out while out for a birthday meal together.
David said the cancellation was due to weather conditions on the African island and that the sudden change left Bev “in tears.” But the couple decided to instead fly out to Gran Canaria in the early hours of December 21.
The couple, from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, were set to fly back on December 27 but Bev felt sick and needed to see a doctor who said she might have become sick with food poisoning. They then decided to take a TUI flight that was due to depart at 2:30pm.
But after they boarded the flight, they were told there would be delays due to foggy conditions at Manchester Airport, according to Dave. The weather conditions around the airport caused disruptions to flights in and out of the airport. The couple was stuck on the plane for three hours with passengers being told they could not leave.
Ambulance worker Dave told the Manchester Evening News: “We have had a nightmare of a holiday. We went away to de-stress and are coming back worse than when we went. I have had a very stressful time at work on an ambulance, dealing with some bad jobs and work related stress, plus erratic hours. We really needed a stress-free holiday.”
Speaking to the outlet as they waited on the runway, Dave added: “My partner is unwell may have food poisoning and it could possibly be viral, so others are at risk, just as we are at risk from other passengers. Many people are coughing and getting agitated.”
Audio heard by the Manchester Evening News featured passengers cheering as crew announced at about 5:10pm the flight would be taking off. Passengers had boarded the flight around three hours earlier. A Manchester Airport spokesperson said: “Like most airports across the country, we have experienced some delays as a result of fog.
“In most instances these delays have been short and have not caused disruption to our schedule. Passengers due to travel should prepare as normal and aim to arrive at the airport in line with their airline’s advice – this is usually two hours ahead of a short haul flight and three hours ahead of a long haul flight.”
