A fed-up Erin Harris, 7, with parents Wayne and Debi, behind, missed out on a trip to Lapland to see Santa because of confusion over boarding their flight at Gatwick. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 0691724)
A FAMILY holiday of a lifetime was ruined after an airport mix-up left them stranded at Gatwick.
Seven-year-old Erin Harris received an invitation in November to visit Lapland before Christmas.
‘When she first got the invitation she was jumping up and down,’ said her mother, Debbi Harris.
‘She was telling everyone at school, her friends and even her school bus driver.’
Erin flew from Guernsey to Gatwick on 10 December with parents Debbi and Wayne.
They checked in on time for their flight to Rovaniemi the following day and waited in the departure lounge.
‘There were delays due to ice on the runways, so we were told to check the departure boards regularly,’ said Mrs Harris.
‘We sat and listened and checked constantly.’
When their flight details came up on the board, the family saw no additional comments or directions, so they continued to wait. After waiting for half an hour, the departure board flashed up with a ‘gate closing’ sign.
‘We ran as fast as we could to the gate,’ said Mrs Harris.
‘But when we got there we were told we were too late and that we could not board. As you can imagine, all the children were crying and the adults weren’t that far off either.
The only comments made by gate staff were that other families had made it, so it must be our fault.’
The Harris’s were joined by another family, who had also missed the flight. According to ground staff, eleven calls had been put out for them to come to the gate, of which five referred to the family by name.
‘I swear we heard no such announcements and neither did the other family who were left behind,’ said Mrs Harris.
The family were escorted back to the arrivals lounge, where they were informed their flight had left.
The Harrises managed to contact people from the flight to try and find out whether they had suffered any similar problems.
‘There were a couple of other families downstairs with us who were also waiting for information on the screen,’ said Mrs Harris.
‘One of them eventually went to the help desk and was told to keep looking.
‘When she refused to leave until more information was found, the help desk assistant suddenly said they had better run as the plane was boarding. If the help desk knew that there was a problem with the departure boards, why was nothing done about it?’
The experience has left the family stressed and tired. Deciding they could not face flying from Gatwick Airport, they returned to Guernsey from Stansted.
The family now risk losing their money as well, as the Harris’s agent has said the family was insured but they will not get their money back as this was not an unavoidable fault.
Gatwick Airport said that the departure boards are updated by the airline.
However, the airline, Jet2, has said that as a chartered flight it was not up to them to update the boards.
The family’s agent has said that the boards were updated and calls were put out, but the Harrises did not arrive at the gate until it was too late.
They said the family missed the flight as they did not keep an eye on the departure board.
The family now feel disappointed that they have missed their holiday and face no prospect of a refund. ‘It was horrendous,’ said Mrs Harris.
‘This whole thing has been a complete fiasco.’
Article posted on 22nd December, 2008 - 2.29pm
One Article Comment
Very sad for the child who has my sympathy however can someone explain why this story was printed in our “national” paper when it is not in the public interest? I have my theories but it would be interesting to know.
Please employ some good investigative journalists who will make the effort to find some relevant stories – there are plenty of them out there if you look hard enough, such as the number of young people who will be homeless “sofa surfers” this Christmas.
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