Couple’s dream holiday turns into nightmare after travel firms’ airport blunder

A couple’s holiday of a lifetime became a case of blunder after blunder when travel firms Thomas Cook and TUI messed up which airport they were meant to be flying from.

Marion and Robert Doogan had booked the fortnight’s trip to the luxury Turkish resort of Antalya a year in advance and meticulously planned every detail.

They even paid through the nose for upgraded airport loungers and transfers to make their journey smoother, reports the Daily Record .

But the holiday began on a bad note when they turned up at the check-in desk at Glasgow Airport, they were told their flight was from Edinburgh.

Marion, 58, said: “We had tickets which clearly said Glasgow on them. But the girl at the desk shook her head. There were no flights to Turkey from Glasgow for three days.”

Airport staff contacted travel agent TUI, who had booked the £3306 Thomas Cook holiday.

Sheltered housing boss Marion added: “The TUI shop insisted we were departing from Glasgow. Thomas Cook said they had told TUI otherwise. It was a shambles. No one had thought to tell us anything.

“So Robert phoned our son and asked him to take us to Edinburgh.

“We bundled our cases into our son’s car. We didn’t know whether we would catch the flight or not.

“Staff at Edinburgh Airport were supposed to be waiting for us but when we got there, no one knew we were coming.”

But Marion and Robert, 65, an assessor for the Scottish Qualifications Authority, breathed a sigh of relief when did did make their flight and it took off for Turkey.

She said: “Our pre-booked seats were gone and there was no airport lounge but at least we were on board.”

But further chaos ensued when they arrived in Antalya and were stranded again.

Marion said: “We had paid extra for an upgraded private transfer. But there was no one to meet us.”

Marion complained to TUI and Thomas Cook again and finally a transfer to the all-inclusive Barut Hemera complex was arranged.

But Marion said: “We didn’t get to the hotel until 5.30am when we’d left Edinburgh at 6.30pm. This was hardly the relaxing start to the holiday we had planned.”

The confusion continued during their break. She said: “We had no idea whether we were on an Edinburgh or a Glasgow flight home. No one could tell us.”

They flew back to Glasgow and submitted a claim to TUI and Thomas Cook.

Marion said: “I wanted a refund for the lounge and pre-booked seats. I also demanded that they cover our outlays and offer something for the stress.”

But she called me in when she was getting nowhere. She said: “I have been trying since we got home on September 9. But they are blaming each other. I am not going to let this drop.”

Thomas Cook said they had told TUI about the flight change 10 months in advance.

They added: “We are sorry this information did not reach Mr and Mrs Doogan. It was TUI’s responsibility to ensure the customers were notified.”

TUI apologised and said: “We are in contact with them to resolve the matter.”

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