Couple canceled Tui flight after being falsely accused of smoking e-cigarettes British News
A young couple who have never smoked or vaped in their lives have been banned from a flight over allegations of vaping.
Lois Light, 27, and her partner Dexter, from Norwich, Norfolk, were on a Tui flight from Gatwick to Lanzarote when two other passengers were caught smoking.
The couple enjoyed their week-long holiday in the sun and were due to fly back on the airline on July 9.
But to their horror, two hours before their flight home, they learned from their Tui representative that they had been denied entry because they had been accused of smoking vape on the outbound flight.
The couple said there was a mix-up as the other two passengers who were vaping were both female.
They had to spend a further £500 on a new easyJet flight, as well as transfers and luggage.
Lois, who works as a nurse, said: “It ruined our holiday and has caused a lot of stress ever since.”
“It’s shocking that such a mistake can happen and Tui said there was nothing they could do to help and didn’t seem to believe us.”
When they returned home, the couple tried to complain to Tui, but the tour operator said it stood by its decision.
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“We tried to say there was a mix-up, but initially everyone we spoke to said there was nothing they could do,” Lois continued.
“You’d think they could look at the CCTV on the plane and see that we didn’t match what the staff described.”
“I even slept with headphones on at the time, so I didn’t even know it happened.”
Lois only received an apology from Tui when she posted about the ordeal on Facebook.
Tui has since assumed liability, offered the couple compensation for the hardship and paid for the travel expenses.
But Lois now wants more from the holiday company, saying: “They paid our expenses and offered £500 in compensation each – but that’s not enough.”
“It’s not that the air conditioning at our hotel broke or the food made us sick – they falsely accused us of something, which is a horrible feeling.”
“The whole experience was extremely unsettling.”
A Tui spokesman said: “We sincerely regret the ordeal they experienced on their journey home from Lanzarote.”
“Unfortunately, human error resulted in the couple being misidentified as disruptive passengers after their flight.”
“We have since apologized to the couple and offered them compensation, covered travel expenses and offered them a goodwill gesture.”
“Such incidents are extremely rare and we take security issues very seriously.”
“We continue to apologize for this error and hope the couple was able to enjoy their vacation prior to this unfortunate mix-up.”
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