Family forced to cancel holiday after Easyjet passengers refuse to move seats



A family from Devon was left devastated after they were forced to cancel their £2,300 holiday when their Easyjet flight to Tenerife was overbooked.

Jay and Carolyn Mortimore were forced off the flight at Bristol Airport when seats were allocated to other passengers who refused to move so that they could sit with their two children, Ryley, 12, and Brayden, seven.

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The family had booked the half-term holiday with Thomas Cook last August but when they arrived at the airport on Tuesday without their boarding passes printed the check-in staff only issued three tickets.

The Bristol Post reports that Jay was told he would be put on the reserve list to see if another seat became available and his mother Susan, 61, who was also joining the family offered to give up her ticket for him to travel.

Once on board, there were no spaces on the plane for two people to sit next to each other and as children have to be sat next to an adult the flight attendant asked if anyone would volunteer to give up their place.

When no passengers spoke up, the family were forced off the flight and offered just £554 in compensation.

Jay said: "There were all these adults on the flight and no one offered to move seats."

He added: "Easyjet staff told us they oversell flights by 10 per cent to make sure it is fully booked, and that is a frequent problem trying to get everyone on flights when they are busy."

To add to their heartbreak, the family's dog was rushed to the vets and had to be put down on the same day. Jay described it as "probably the worst day of our lives". The Mortimores ended up spending the half-term holidays in a caravan in Exmouth.

In a statement to the Plymouth Herald, the carrier, which eventually compensated the family in full, said: "Easyjet is sorry to hear of the experience that the Mortimore family had with their recent booking to Tenerife. Easyjet protects families from any overbooking, so this situation should simply not have occurred.

"We should have been able to seat the Mortimore family together to enable them to travel and they will be fully compensated for their experience."



Airline Offers Seats for Friends and Family
Airline Offers Seats for Friends and Family



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