Travel agent blunder leaves teen stranded in Turkey

PA

A 16-year-old boy faced the prospect of spending a week on his own in Turkey because a travel agent mistakenly booked his return flight to depart a week after his friends.

Tina Bartley from Clonsilla, Dublin, arranged for her son, Joe, to go away on holiday with a family friend to help take his mind off his dad's illness.

He was travelling with Cathy O'Connor and her husband Tom, who booked the trip three days earlier, before calling into the travel agent and adding Joe to their holiday party.

However, The Sun reports that when they arrived at the airport to fly home, they were told that Joe's return flight was booked for a week later.

It then took Tom and Joe two days to get back back to Dublin, after taking two flights, via Oslo, and a train - at a cost of €2,500.

Mrs Bartley told The Sun: "Cathy decided to bring Joe on holiday because his dad is in a home dying. He's had a major heart attack.

"She went in and booked and then four days later she added Joe. She made it very clear in the travel agent that she was adding Joe to their holiday. As they came home after a week Joe wasn't booked on the flight."

Cassidy Travel denied that the mistake was their fault, but they offered the family a discount on their next holiday.

In a letter to Mrs Bartley, Cassidy Travel manager Sean Lynam wrote: "It is most unfortunate that you did not examine the documents provided to you and check all of the details therein prior to travel."

Click on the image below for some half-term holiday ideas...

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