Elgin mum and son report children sleeping in suitcases as they are stuck in Turkish city of Antalya
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A MORAY mum has reported seeing children sleeping in suitcases while stuck in Turkey after "shocking" communication from travel and tourism company TUI.
Jax Miller, from Elgin, was supposed to travel home from Antalya to Glasgow on Tuesday, July 26, but had to wait overnight due to what TUI described as a "possible technical fault" with the plane.
Customers due to board the flight to Glasgow were split across four other planes due to fly to the United Kingdom, with the majority seated on Tuesday.
However, for some families – like Jax and her son – an overnight wait was in store, due to a limited availability of seats on flights home.
"We got an email from TUI when we were meant to be boarding the flight to advise that there had been a malfunction (with the plane) and we would be split between other UK flights," she said.
"We were then told to go to arrivals to collect our luggage and ended up walking in circles as no one guided us.
"Two-thirds of the flight got their luggage, but about 60 of us waited an hour at the carousel and were then guided back to departures – at about 1am – thinking were getting put to a hotel, then the TUI rep left to go home!
"We were left sitting, children sleeping in suitcases, disabled and elderly people lying on the floor. We had no information. They struggled to get everyone accommodated."
Jax and her son were put on a flight to Doncaster before being bussed back north. It was a long day, but Jax's thoughts were with fellow travellers.
She added: "We can handle it, it's an inconvenience but families with small children and elderly family members were very distressed and the lack of information was shocking."
In response, TUI said that they understood the frustration of customers – and apologised for the lack of hotel accommodation near to the airport.
However, they said communication to all passengers was clear and that those who had to wait overnight were given vouchers to spend.
A spokesperson said: "We fully understand the frustration from customers due to travel back from Antalya to Glasgow.
"Unfortunately, the aircraft required additional engineering inspections which took longer than expected, and it had to remain in Antalya overnight.
"To get customers home as quickly as possible, we arranged for them to travel on various flights into the UK on July 26 and provided transport back to Glasgow.
"Those who couldn’t be allocated flights on the same day were given a generous amount to spend on meals, transfers and overnight accommodation and they are booked to fly home today.
"All customers were sent direct text messages with all the required information and we would like to thank them for their patience and understanding."
Jax added that she was not given a meal due to timing, and that the overnight accommodation provided was only from 6am until 11am.
