Holidaymakers waiting in an airport were ordered to return their duty-free purchases when flights were cancelled, and had to leave empty handed. Flights across the country have ee scrapped at the last minute, leaving people missing out on long-awaited holidays - with delays set to continue for up to 18 months more.
But another consequence is that passengers who have made it through security and started airport shopping, are having to give their goods back, reports BristolLive.
A spokesperson for Bristol Airport said: "Returning duty-free is normal procedure for a cancelled flight. Customers can purchase duty-free (and receive the duty-free discounted prices) [but] this allowance is only eligible for customers who are departing from the UK.
"When flights are cancelled, the customer is not leaving the UK, so it is a customs requirement that all duty-free purchases are returned, and a full refund provided. This is an HM Customs requirement."
Aaliyah Miller, who had a flight cancelled from Bristol Airport to Lisbon, said: "I was told 10 minutes before boarding that my flight was cancelled. As if that wasn't bad enough, being asked to return duty-free purchases was certainly salt in the wound.
"I think the entire room was in disbelief, and a chorus of laughter literally erupted when they made the duty-free announcement."
