Easyjet customers ‘locked in airport corridor with no water or toilets’

Dozens of tourists were reportedly trapped in a sweltering airport corridor for an hour, only to find their flight had been cancelled.

Holidaymakers waiting to board an easyJet flight from Pisa, Italy, to Manchester on Tuesday were trapped in the hot and stuffy corridor with no access to water or toilets.

Temperatures in the room reportedly soared to 30C, causing some to feel faint while others attempted to escape down a fire escape.

After being released from the corridor, passengers were told their flight had been cancelled.

The delays meant some had to wait eight hours while trying to arrange hotels and onward travel.

EasyJet has apologized for the cancellation and its customers’ discomfort, but said passengers were not in the corridor for more than 30 minutes.

Among the delays were Neil Rylance, 52, and his father Joe Rylance, 83, from Bangor, North Wales.

Neil, who runs a software company, told MailOnline the delays meant his party of eight would be stuck in Pisa for an extra two days.

He estimated the disruption caused by the experience and the cancellation would cost his family more than £2,000.

Neil described the situation as “chaos”.

“There were three easyJet flights all thrown together with no one organizing where we were going to fly,” he told MailOnline from Pisa.

“Every single person who was supposed to be on the flight to Manchester was locked up in that corridor – locked up at both ends.

“Within 10 minutes it got hotter and hotter and hotter.

“We tried kicking down an emergency exit just to get some air for people.

‘There was no easyJet representative to be seen throughout this experience.’

Neil said the stress has taken its toll on his father and the rest of the family, who have been looking forward to the trip for a long time.

“Communication is so important, but there was absolutely none of that,” he added.

‘I just wish they’d talked to us and let us know what was going on. We still have no idea what happened.’

Neil and his family were not the only ones to express their frustration with the delays and easyJet’s customer service.

Natalie Yates tweeted: “We were already delayed and have now been ushered into the boarding tunnel with no food, water or toilets and people are passing out and overheating.

“No communication and no way out.”

While Martin Brady said: “Absolute s**t show from @easyJet yesterday at Pisa airport.

“Eight hours at the airport to be told he has been canceled after being held in a tunnel with no access to food or drink. Insanity!’

In a statement, an easyJet spokesman said: “We deeply regret that flight EZY1848 from Pisa to Manchester on 21 June was delayed and subsequently cancelled.

“The safety and welfare of our customers and crew is our top priority and our team has done everything possible to minimize the impact of the delay on our customers.

“While no issues were raised with our team, we apologize for any inconvenience customers experienced while initially waiting to board and our team escorted customers back to the terminal and provided refreshments.

“Once the flight was cancelled, customers were offered the option to rebook or receive a refund and we also offer hotel accommodation and meals in Pisa.

“Once again, we apologize for any inconvenience.”

Flying has become busier in recent weeks as airlines and airports struggle to meet demand as people return to flying in the wake of the pandemic.

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