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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Emily Collis & Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Couple miss start of holiday after special assistance airport staff 'forgot about' them

A retired couple who needed a bit of extra help at the airport missed the start of their holiday after being 'forgotten about' by special assistance staff.

Colin and Sandra Jarvis had pre-booked the service long before their arrival, BirminghamLive report.

They needed the airport aid ahead of their Ryanair flight to Faro, Portugal and wanted to be sure they didn't run into trouble getting to their gate.

But they missed the plane after saying nobody came to fetch them from the wheelchair access point as planned.

By the time they flagged down another Birmingham Airport employee, the holidaymakers were told it was too late to get them onto the flight.

A Birmingham Airport spokesperson said they were sorry for letting the couple down (Birmingham Mail/BPM MEDIA)

Sandra, 71, from Redditch, suffers with arthritis and so needs to use a stairlift when boarding.

But despite arriving at the airport on Friday, July 8 two and a half hours early and being escorted through security, the pair were left panicking when they realised their flight was on 'last call' - yet no one had come to help them on board.

They would have to come back the following morning, missing a whole day of their sunshine break.

Husband Colin, 56, said : "We had a flight booked for 6pm to Faro and we got there at about 3.30pm. We went through with special assistance through security and went to the usual departure point for wheelchair access.

They missed their flight to Portugal and had to delay their trip by a day (SWNS)

"Whenever we've used it in the past, someone has come to collect us to board, so we were just sat there nattering away. Then we realised it was the last call for passengers onto our flight and no one had turned up to pick us up.

"It was myself, my wife and another lady left sat there. By the time someone came over, it was to tell us we had missed the flight.

"They radioed through to somebody to tell them we hadn't boarded yet but by that time, it was too late."Colin said they were rebooked onto a flight for the following morning, before the airport ordered them a taxi home.

"The two had booked to stay in a hotel in Portugal on the Friday night before checking into their villa the following afternoon, but said they have lost the money they paid for the room - as well as missing out on the first day of their holiday.

"We only had three hours sleep by the time we had to get up again for our taxi back to the airport, but because of the flight times, we ended up with four hours to kill before we were allowed to check in to our villa," said Colin. "We were absolutely shattered.

"It's the third time this year we've used Birmingham Airport and normally the staff are really good and courteous. On our new flight the next morning, we were treated like royalty. I think they knew they'd let us down the day before.

"We were upset about being forgotten about, but they tried to sort it as best they could. It was just a very stressful experience and it effectively took an entire day off our holiday.

"It certainly hasn't put us off travelling again in future but it was still an inconvenience which needs highlighting."

Birmingham Airport spokesperson said: “We are very sorry for letting Mrs Jarvis down. In recognition of our mistake we arranged taxis home, and back again, and rebooked Mrs Jarvis at our cost on a flight the next day.”

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