A Brummie family were forced to fork out a whopping £2,500 for new flights after their boarding passes were refused at the gate.
Chanel Gaston was told she and her family were “not allowed,” to get on their EasyJet flight home from Sharm El-Sheikh as their pass was, “not validated.” The 37-year-old mum of two was travelling with her partner and planned to catch the 7:20pm flight to Birmingham.
The family arrived at the airport at 5:30pm, leaving them plenty of time to check their luggage and find their gate. They decided to check in online ahead of the airport to avoid any rushing, reports the Mirror.
READ MORE: Woman vows to never stay in Travelodge again after horror discovery in room
Take a deep dive into our UK holiday news content
The security at the airport delayed the family for half an hour, prompting them to be escorted in a rush to make their flight, Chanel said. Despite this, upon arrival at the gate, they were denied boarding. Consequently, faced with no alternative transport, Chanel had to borrow £2,500 for different flights home.
(Image: PA)
The furious mum told Birmingham Live: “There was no one to be seen from easyJet, four easyJet staff had no clue what to do. I really did not know what to do at this point. We stood in the airport until nearly 11.30pm with no idea what the hell to do. There was no one to help us. I have got two kids with me, one being very sick.”
Chanel said she’d had to take out loans to pay for her family’s urgent flights back home. She then went back to her insurance company and easyJet for answers. The insurance was purchased via a third party on easyJet’s website, but Chanel says she has received no reassurance from either the airline or the insurer, claiming that she’s been caught in a back-and-forth with no resolution. She added: “EasyJet should be giving back what I am owed, [I am] just being passed back and forth.”
On August 5, an EasyJet spokesperson responded: “We are sorry to hear that Ms Gaston and her family did not arrive at the gate in time to board their flight from Sharm El-Sheikh to Birmingham on 25 May after being delayed at airport security due to not having their boarding passes validated at bag drop as required by the Egyptian authorities, which we inform customers of ahead of their flight.”
(Image: UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The spokesperson added: “We recommend that customers have comprehensive travel insurance to cover for unforeseen circumstances, and we have provided Ms Gaston with the supporting documentation she needs to make a claim with her insurance provider.” The airline has insisted that the family rocked up at the airport too late, post check-in closure, blocking their access through security which led to the hold-up.
They explained: “Airports in Egypt have a strict policy which requires passengers to present themselves at bag drop at least one hour before departure to validate their boarding passes before going through to security and we inform customers of this in the communications we send to them ahead of departure, to ensure they are aware of these local security requirements.”
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here .