A family from Stockport have described the scenes at Tenerife airport following a massive air traffic control failure, which left them sleeping on military-style camp beds INSIDE the airport.
Thousands of Brits have seen their journeys cancelled and are still waiting for new flights home following a network-wide technical issue that put the UK’s entire air traffic control system offline on Monday.
The National Air Traffic Services warned that the disruption “could last days” — and, for now, that certainly looks to be the case.
Stricken passengers and airlines have been left scrambling to find hotel accommodation for those affected by the travel chaos.
That’s included sleeping in hotel lobbies and in airport lounges, including the scenes seen at Tenerife Airport, where tired, hungry and frustrated would-be fliers were temporarily housed along rows of military-style camp beds, as terminals have been turned into temporary bedrooms and living spaces.
Sight like this are fairly common at most airports.This one is less so.People are sleeping on benches, floors and even military camp beds at airports like Tenerife TFS. (Credit: Bruno Sanchez-Andrade Nuño/Natalie Wood)
Stockport local Natalie and her family were set to travel home from a holiday in Tenerife and arrive back at Manchester Airport in the early hours of Monday 28 August. However, after hearing about all the travel drama at the reception of their hotel, they later received an email from easyJet informing them that their flight had been cancelled.
“We booked direct with easyJet but there was no communication directly to us, we just received the email saying the flight has been cancelled and there was no holiday rep [to help] and no one who spoke English for us to communicate with,” she explains.
“We tried to call customer service but got cut off, so we were left unsure even if the coach scheduled to take us back to the airport was going to pick us up.”
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Thankfully, their coach did arrive, but after apparently queuing for 45 minutes to board and arriving at the airport, they were then told by an easyJet employee to go back to the hotel whilst they waited to be assigned to a new flight.
“It was at our expense as they stated there were rooms available but when we returned there wasn’t any and when we asked for food vouchers, they said we weren’t allowed and were then told by easyJet to get on our transfers.”
Natalie went on to explain how they had to settle for sitting on the airport floor and how her daughter had to re-wear dirty clothes from the holiday after all the travelling back and forth. Even after the medics arrived with the camp beds, along with some blankets, fruit and water, they obviously prioritised children, the elderly and people with disabilities first.
Fortunately, there were just enough beds for her and her family to use, but with Natalie and her family facing being in Tenerife until the next flight on Friday, it’s not the most comfortable of circumstances.
So like so many others in the same boat, the family have had to make alternative arrangements.
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“We have had to lend money from family to get us a BnB till Friday and a car rental because our flight lands us in Edinburgh and we’ve still heard no news from easyJet,” she said.
Sadly, their story is just one of countless Brits stuck abroad and those who were scheduled to fly out from the likes of Manchester and other airports are now heading home and simply looking to cancel bookings and get their money back.
The Manc has approached easyJet for a comment.
The airline has been sending some ‘rescue flights’ to various locations across Europe and said in an update that they have been “providing customers with assistance and hotel accommodation and advising anyone who has needed to make their own hotel or alternative travel arrangements that they will be reimbursed.”
At present, they are running a total of “five repatriation flights” from Palma, Faro, Tenerife, Enfidha and Rhodes to London Gatwick this week and have said, “We are also operating larger aircraft on key routes including Faro, Ibiza, Dalaman and Tenerife to provide some additional 700 seats this week.” Meanwhile, the press surrounding our local airport has gone from bad to worse in the last 24 hours or so…
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Pretty grim reading for Greater Manchester holidaymakers for the second year running. 😬✈️https://t.co/J16EMibOQJ
Manchester United fans planning another major protest amid more upheaval around the club
Danny Jones
Manchester United supporters look set to stage another high-profile demonstration in protest against the INEOS Sports ownership group.
This is the latest response to the club’s continuing struggles, and not just the first proper organised mobilisation of the year, but the first since the most recent major march last spring.
Following the sacking of ‘manager’ Ruben Amorim, despite co-owner Jim Ratcliffe and his board of executives insisting that the Portuguese head coach (that distinction proving to be a crucial detail), the local sporting giants are once again starting from scratch and looking for another replacement boss.
With that in mind, militant fan group The 1958 announced their most recent protest ahead of a home fixture next month in a rather bold fashion…
As announced we protest against this dysfunctional co-ownership before Fulham.
Yep, neither Amorim, Erik ten Hag, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, nor any face even remotely associated with Old Trafford/Carrington is safe from an AI parody.
As for The 1958 group’s actual protest plans, speaking via the BBC this week, the supporters’ trust has confirmed that they will be making a vocal statement outside the stadium on Sunday, 1 February.
Travelling Reds already made their thoughts known with a very blunt, provocative and somewhat controversial banner in the away end at Turf Moor for the 2-2 draw against Burnley.
With Man United approaching a third-round FA Cup tie against Brighton and two big games in the form of a Manchester Derby at home and a trip to Arsenal, they have decided to choose the Fulham game at Old Trafford to stage the march.
Despite admitting that the results under Amorim were no way near good enough, they insist that the – most notably the overarching and Glazer family shadow ever looming over the organisation.
Further details around the actual timings and locations are still yet to be shared by the organisers, but you can expect this to be a well-attended, large-scale event.
Often convening at The Tollgate pub near regular matchday tram stop, Trafford Bar, before walking down Talbot Road towards the ground itself, we imagine Reds will then descend upon the Theatre of Dreams in their thousands.
In case you didn’t already surmise from the video itself, Ratcliffe and co. will be no doubt the subject of the usual chants, as well as more banners and flags.
What do you make of the latest plans, Man United fans?
Nothing will ever be quite as bold as the infamous Old Trafford break-in from 2022 (Credit: The Manc)
More Greater Manchester football matches called off as Storm Goretti sets in
Danny Jones
Yet more scheduled football matches in Greater Manchester and the surrounding regions have been postponed and/or cancelled due to Storm Goretti.
The increasingly cold, blustery and icy conditions moving over from France and across more parts of the UK have already caused schools to close, flights to be grounded, and plenty more disruption.
Another such inconvenience has come in the form of live sports, large swathes of which now look like they simply won’t be taking place.
One of the latest to be called off is Salford City‘s upcoming game against Swindon Town in the FA Cup this weekend, with various other games involving teams up and down the footballing pyramid now facing uncertainty over whether their third-round fixtures will go ahead as planned.
Ironically, this is just the tip of the iceberg, if you’ll pardon the very obvious pun.
Another game that was called off late last week, between Chadderton and FC Isle of Man, is yet to be rescheduled; the same is true of Rochdale AFC’s meeting with Brackley Town, Radcliffe v Oxford City, as well as games involving Bury, Stockport Town, Irlam, Cheadle Town, Prestwich Heys and more.
Other nearby outfits, such as Chorley, Warrington Rylands and Ramsbottom United, just to name a few, are also still unsure of when their next game will be.
In many cases, it is simply a matter of the grounds being largely or completely frozen and deemed unfit for use following pitch inspections.
Oldham Athletic – which has already been hit with plenty of snow and frost – yesterday confirmed that their Notts County clash wouldn’t be going ahead due to that very reason.
With winds of up to 90 miles per hour also being reported, yellow and even red weather warnings have been issued across various parts of the country, with people being urged to check their routes home from work by local authorities.
Storm Goretti should start calming down this evening (Fri, 9 January) and into Saturday morning, but the after-effects could still play havoc over the next few days.
For instance, over in Cheshire, Macclesfield FC are going so far as to call on nearby residents to help clear their playing surface from heavy snowfall.
So, if you’re in the area and fancy helping out, they could sure do with your help.
VOLUNTEERS REQUIRED
Macclesfield FC are once again requesting the help of the fanbase and the local community to help clear the remainder of the compacted snow from the surrounding areas of the https://t.co/fL99QEEJ4D Stadium.
Danny Jones -
30th August 2023 
