Easyjet: Cardiff rugby club stuck in France to be rescued
- Published
The team were due to fly home from Bordeaux to Bristol on Sunday
Members of a rugby club stranded in France after EasyJet cancelled their flight are being rescued by a coach holiday company.
Cardiff's Clwb Rygbi Cymry Caerdydd were due to fly out of Bordeaux on Sunday.
Nantgarw-based Ferris Holidays has offered free seats on a coach leaving the south of France on Tuesday night.
Airline EasyJet apologised, saying it had helped stranded passengers with food and accommodation.
About 59 members of the rugby club had just finished an end-of-season tour in Toulouse and were about to board a flight home to Bristol when it was cancelled minutes before departure.
Over the past few weeks, travellers have described "chaos" at UK airports, with long queues and flights being cancelled.
Caeo Harri Hughes, 24, said Clwb Rygbi Cymry Caerdydd members were disappointed at the lack of support from EasyJet.
The airport in Bordeaux was busy as the rugby team waited to get home
He was due in work on Monday, and added: "It has been a really frustrating 24 hours, with the news that the flight was cancelled reaching us minutes into the Wales versus Ukraine football match.
"The company hasn't helped, they haven't offered replacement travel arrangements and there isn't even a help desk in the airport to help us."
He and two others have since returned to Wales via flights to Budapest and Birmingham.
Some of the group looked for alternative routes home - heading for northern France and a ferry to Jersey, while others aimed for Paris and the Eurostar, with one travelling to Budapest.
This left 49 people in Bordeaux, many of them teachers who are missing lessons.
Hotel rooms have cost about £6,000 a night for the group, and while the club's committee have helped out, they will be looking to reclaim this from Easyjet.
"Some left early Monday aiming to catch a boat to Jersey," said Jona Owen, 24, another one of the three who arrived in Birmingham on Tuesday.
"Some went to Paris but there wasn't many trains running as it was a bank holiday."
The team had been on tour in Toulouse
Mr Owen added: "It's a stressful time, everyone just wants to go home."
An EasyJet spokesman said: "We let customers know directly what their options were to rearrange or receive a refund and we are arranging meals and accommodation according to need."
He added that customer service hours were being extended and apologised for any disruption caused.
"Our team will contact the group to discuss options and refund any reasonable expenses," the spokesman said.
The rugby club has tweeted its thanks to Ferris Holidays, with the group set to start the journey back to Wales on Tuesday evening.
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