A couple were left gutted after receiving an email while sat in an airport bar just 35 minutes before their flight was due to take off.
Jon, 54, and Judi Saunders, 55, were in Leeds Airport when they learned their getaway to Costa Teguise in Lanzarote was cancelled just over half an hour before the flight was scheduled to depart.
The heart-sinking email informed them about the cancellation, which was prompted by severe floods that recently engulfed the island, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Disaster struck for the couple as Lanzarote declared a state of emergency because of the torrential rains, with the UK Foreign Office rolling out fresh advice amid the inclement weather, according to the Daily Star.
The Spanish hotspot was hit with persistent downpours on Saturday afternoon, April 12, causing local emergency services to be bombarded, with reports of 240 incidents. By the time it hit 4pm, the Canary Islands government had to declare an emergency situation in the face of the flood risks owing to the relentless showers, putting out calls for locals and tourists alike to adhere to protective measures.
Jon and Judi, who works as a teacher, were due to catch their flight just 35 minutes after the arrival of the email, but instead had to stick around to collect their luggage from the grounded aircraft. The holidaymakers shared their frustration and disappointment over the whole fiasco, stressing how 'upset' they were by the trip cancellation and disappointed by the customer service over how it was handled.
Judi said: "They cancelled it 35 minutes before we were supposed to get on the flight. I was very upset, really. Customer services cut me off three times... I don't want to hear that Jet2 music ever again.
"I'm just cross that they cut me off when I was in the airport and they couldn't even respect the fact that we had difficulties with the noise in the airport. They just cut you off and that really wound me up."
Jon added: "One woman was really good and helpful but a few were not helpful. I think it was individual rather than a company-wide thing. We realise that this is nothing compared to what is happening in Lanzarote and the hotel and really hope the staff and residents are all okay."
The married couple, who were told they would be refunded the full cost of the holiday, stayed in the terminal after retrieving their bags to see if they could get another package holiday but say they left after getting fed up dealing with some Jet2holidays staff. They also questioned why the package holiday wasn't cancelled earlier when the floods started the previous night.
Judi said: "Basically, the people on the ground didn't know anything. They couldn't help us in any way because all they could tell us was, 'you aren't going'. As soon as we saw the floods on the news, we understood but why do we need to find that out? It was just communication.
"It was 35 minutes' notice and the floods were yesterday, not today. They could have told me last night, especially when you have to pay £14 (approximately €16) to go in and out of the airport because of the parking charges."
"The fact we were ready and we had our bags on the plane. We had to wait for them to be taken off again. We were just ready to fly. It was just one of those things. We were upset," Jon added.
"They couldn't find any alternatives and it was really busy. We had a lot of issues with customer service when we tried to rebook it."
A spokesperson for Jet2holidays apologised for the inconvenience suffered by Jon and Judi, saying: "Due to the severe weather conditions that have affected parts of Lanzarote, we regrettably have had no choice but to cancel a small number of holidays that were due to arrive into hotels that are temporarily closed due to the impact of these adverse conditions.
"Unfortunately, this includes Mr and Mrs Saunders' holiday as, despite our best efforts, we were unable to source an alternative hotel at such incredibly short notice due to a shortage of accommodation.
"We contacted Mr and Mrs Saunders to let them know as soon as we learned of this, and to let them know their options, which include rebooking or a full refund. Although this situation is completely outside of our control, we would of course like to offer our sincere apologies to Mr and Mrs Saunders."
The emergency status has been lifted from Lanzarote by the Canary Islands government following the flooding, which affected several areas, including Arrecife, Teguise and San Bartolome last weekend.
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