Flight cancellations hit couple's diamond wedding anniversary plans

Mike and Gill Garlick were married on 15 July 1962

A couple's special plan to celebrate their diamond wedding anniversary abroad has been left in tatters by travel chaos and flight cancellations.

Mike and Gill Garlick's 10:30 BST EasyJet flight to Sardinia departing from Bristol Airport on 4 June was unexpectedly cancelled at 13:00.

The couple rebooked on a replacement flight departing from Gatwick the next day but that was also cancelled.

Mr Garlick said they were "absolutely distraught" about the situation.

When the 81-year-old husband and wife, from Malvern, learned of the initial cancellation, they said they had a "nightmare" even leaving the airport.

All passengers were required to return any duty free purchases, queue for passport control and retrieve their luggage from one of six unlabelled carousels.

The couple said they struggled to find help at the airport as most queries were dealt with online

In order to get to Gatwick Airport for their replacement flight, they travelled via bus, train and taxi to Crawley Premier Inn with "no help whatsoever".

Their taxi dropped them at Gatwick at 04:15 but when they tried to check their baggage in they discovered their replacement flight had been cancelled too.

Mr and Mrs Garlick estimate they spent more than £500 on unplanned transport and hotel accommodation in a vain attempt to take their wedding anniversary holiday.

The couple, who were married on 15 July 1962, said they were both "utterly fed up and totally confused as to what to do next".

Bristol Airport said it was "working hard to ensure all customers have a smooth and easy journey through the terminal"

EasyJet said: "We are very sorry that Mr and Mrs Garlick's flights to Sardinia were cancelled.

"While we notified customers of the cancellations via their travel agent's details provided at time of booking, along with their options to rebook or receive a refund and offered them hotel accommodation, we fully understand the difficulty this will have caused and we are very sorry for the disruption to their plans."

Bristol Airport added: "We appreciate and understand the frustration and disappointment experienced by customers who were impacted by flight cancellations.

"Each day over 80% of our customers experience less than a 20-minute security queue time, and a majority of customers wait an average 30 minutes for luggage it is only during peak flight operations we extend beyond this - we are focussed on improving the service levels to our customers throughout the day."