easyJet respond after furious woman misses flight drinking coffee at Bristol Airport
The pair spent an extra £90 for the replacement flights and £48 in taxi fares to get home and then back to the airport
Conor GogartySenior Digital Reporter
Zasha Whiteway-WilkinsonSenior Digital Reporter
A Bristol woman who missed an easyJet flight from Bristol Airport to Venice has spoken of her annoyance at the airline.
Lucy Tilney, 57, and a friend were due to fly to Marco Polo Airport at 1.25pm on Friday December 6 but never made it through the gates.
She and her friend were drinking a coffee at the EAT cafe in the waiting area when they saw a 'gate closed' message on the noticeboard.
She claims that they had been checking the display, but the gate number was not visible long enough for them to see it and make their way onto their flight, reports Bristol Live.
All this meant that they were 'forced' to book with Ryanair instead as they had onward plans in Italy that would be affected otherwise.
Ms Tilney believes that this mistake happened because the airline did not give them a good enough chance to get through the gates.
A claim that the airline has since denied.
"My ex was a pilot so I know that the greater your load, the greater the cost."
She said: "EasyJet knew we were in the airport as they had loaded our bags onto the aircraft, so I fail to understand why they were not able to issue a call warning us we would miss our flight.
"We were forced to book another flight with Ryanair, leaving very early the next morning, as we had onward plans in Italy which would be affected.
"I wonder if it suits easyJet to take the money for the flights and luggage but not to have the weight of those passengers and their luggage.
"My ex was a pilot so I know that the greater your load, the greater the cost."
Because of the mistake the pair were both set back £138 each as well as the original £114 they'd paid for the tickets.
The pair spent an extra £90 for the replacement flights and £48 in taxi fares to get home and then back to the airport.
Giving a full account of her experience, Ms Tilney said: "We arrived at the airport in good time, at 11.30am.
"We had checked in online and only had to drop off our bags and go through security.
"Having done that, we looked for the gate number on the screen. The screen informed us that the gate number would be displayed later.
"We decided to get a coffee and wait in the main area upstairs. We sat and drank our coffee and every so often, I checked the screen to see the same message – 'gate number to be shown shortly'."
Ms Tilney was unhappy at the exchange she had with an easyJet employee
She says she and her friend waited there for more than half an hour and finished their coffee, "checking occasionally".
She continued: "We were sitting and talking and doing our finances and all that stuff.
"The next time I looked at the screen, the display was showing 'gate closed'.
"I shouted 's***' and grabbed my stuff. We ran in the direction of the usual easyJet flights, which are usually the furthest gates from the central hall.
"I encountered an easyJet crew coming off duty who kindly called the gate on their mobile phone. We were told that the gate was closed and they had offloaded our bags."
Ms Tilney was unhappy at the exchange she then had with an easyJet employee.
She explained: "We went to the help desk, or rather the 'unhelpful desk', where we were treated very unsympathetically by the young lady at the desk.
"She looked at her screen and casually commented the gate number was displayed at 12.45pm.
"Perhaps she assumed we were drunk or had been drinking – I don't know, that might explain the offhand way she spoke."
Ms Tilney believes the employee saying the gate was displayed at 12.45pm exposes a fault on the part of the airline.
Passenger entering EasyJet plane (Image: PA)
She said: "Since the gates are closed 30 minutes before departure, that means the gate was closed at 12.55pm, only 10 minutes later.
"The easyJet gates are at least 10 minutes' walk from the central hall and some of them take even longer to get to, even for fit able-bodied people.
"My travelling companion was 71 years old and has a heart problem. There are signs which tell you at the start of the walk to the gates that it can take 15 minutes to arrive."
Ms Tilney added the help desk assistant said her name had not been called because Bristol Airport is a "silent airport".
She said: "She told us the next flight was on the Sunday and it would cost £110 to book it through her directly, and it would be cheaper online.
Ms Tilney says she suggested the possibility of compensation but allegedly received the simple response: "No."
She added: "By the way, there was another young man queuing at the desk, who had had the same experience and who had to buy another ticket.
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"He had been flying to Belfast and they had changed the gate number and he'd been unable to get to the new gate in time.
"On Saturday, December 7, we had to order a taxi to collect us at 4am, as the Ryanair flight departed at 6.25am.
"This was an exhausting start and left us both feeling shattered for the next couple of days."
The friends flew back with easyJet from Rome–Fiumicino International Airport on Saturday, December 21.
She said: "On our return flight, the check-in attendant was able to confirm the gate number for the easyJet flight even though we arrived over two hours before departure.
"I don't understand how a much larger airport in Rome was able to correctly identify the gate number for the easyJet flight when easyJet cannot at a much smaller airport such as Bristol."
easyJet have since responded to the complaint (Image: PA)
Ms Tilney has since lodged a complaint with easyJet but does not expect to receive any compensation.
An easyJet spokeswoman said the gate number was displayed at 12.45pm and the gate closed – and was displayed on the board as closed – at 1.06pm.
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She added: "We are sorry that Ms Tilney missed her flight. Unfortunately they did not arrive at the gate before it closed and all other passengers had boarded.
"Our team did everything possible to try and get them through to the aircraft. However it was unfortunately too late for them to be able to board and so we assisted Ms Tilney with alternative travel arrangements.
"Punctuality is important to all of our passengers. We ask everyone to be at the gate at least 30 minutes prior to the scheduled departure so we can get passengers to their destinations on time."
The spokeswoman said only one gate number was provided to passengers for the Belfast flight mentioned by Ms Tilney.
Do you have any similar experiences you'd like to share? Email: zasha.whitewaywilkinson@reachplc.com
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