Dream trip hell as girls stranded in Cuba
By By Danielle Beeton
A pals' dream holiday turned into the trip from hell when a muck-up with
flights left them stranded thousands of miles from home
Natalie Coyne travelled to Cuba with four former St Anthony School
schoolmates to see pal Madlein Hope, from Silksworth, marry her
sweetheart Stuart Bennett on the Caribbean isle.
It was pals' first girlie holiday away, but their glorious Havana nights
were ruined on unlucky Friday the 13th when their flight home was
overbooked by 48 people, and they were told they would not be able to
return home for another four days.
Natalie, 29, who works in The Kings Arms pub, in Deptford, said: "We
followed the instructions and arrived at Havana airport three hours
early. We knew straight away that something wasn't quite right because
the queue was absolutely huge.
"Nobody told us what had happened but we worked out they had run out of
seats, and we later found out that 48 people could not get on the flight."
The next available direct flight home, according to the airline Cubana
Airways, was not until Tuesday, April 17 – four days after their
scheduled flight home.
A coach was put on to take stranded passengers to a nearby hotel.
Natalie, who lives in Close Street, Millfield, said: "It was a luxury
five-star hotel but everyone just wanted to come home. We had no money
left, no clean clothes – none of the essentials – it was a nightmare."
Friend Helen Jacob, 29, of Greystoke Avenue, Tunstall, added: "It really
spoilt our holiday. We were so frustrated with the lack of help and
information from the staff. I speak Spanish as well so it wasn't as if
it was a language barrier."
By the end of the weekend Natalie
and Helen and friends Jill Wilcox, Alexandra Greenwell and Joanne Buddle
had had enough and decided to challenge the airline's delay decision.
"We went to the airport and found the person in charge of the airline
and basically harassed him for six hours until he agreed to get us on a
flight to Amsterdam," Natalie added.
The group finally arrived home last Monday night, after a 12-hour
flight, a stop-off in Amsterdam and having to pay £112 each for a train
home from London.
Natalie and her friends have not been offered any compensation as yet.
A spokesman for the Association of British Travel Agents said that
regulations relating to over-booked flights – including compensation
payments and getting passengers on the next available flight – did not
apply in this case, as Cubana Airways is not based in the European Union.
Tour operator Captivating Cuba declined to comment.
Last Updated: 23 April 2007
http://www.sunderlandtoday.co.uk/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=2723060§ionid=1107
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