Passengers stranded in a Spanish airport due to a delayed flight have said it has "ruined their holiday" after waiting more than 12 hours to get home.
The Tui flight, operated by Albastar, was meant to leave at 9am Friday (June 2) but it never arrived, with passengers receiving no information for six hours.
Birthday parties and shifts at work were missed due to the incident, which has made some people say they will think twice before booking with the company again.
Charly Newell, who was on a two-week holiday with her partner Danny for his 40th birthday, said: "It was a big holiday but after what happened it feels like it ruined the experience.
"We felt kept in the dark for hours, waiting and waiting for the plane with no one telling us anything."
Family members had gathered at the pair's home in Norwich to celebrate his birthday that evening but the big bash was left in tatters due to the delay.
The package holiday company has said a technical issue caused the delay and has apologised for the lack of communication.
It also meant people waiting to travel to Mallorca from the city on the plane's return leg didn't leave until 9.30pm - 10 hours later than scheduled - meaning they lost a day of their holiday.
Karen Barnes, from Norwich, was also on the flight.
She said: "I have been travelling with Tui for over 35 years and have found their customer service is deplorable recently. I travel with them mainly now because I want to fly from Norwich.
"I have another holiday booked for later in the year but I am debating whether to forget about travelling with them again and losing my deposit."
The travel drama echoes similar incidents last year which saw passengers hit by widespread disruption with some delays lasting as long as 48 hours.
Passengers are now facing a battle to claim back compensation from Alba Star for the delay.
According to EU regulations, if a flight is delayed by more than five hours you could be entitled to claim back £520 in compensation if the delay is the airline's fault.
However, passengers have said it is proving a lengthy process that could take weeks to complete.
Tony Mitchell, from Norwich, couldn't make his shift at work that evening, leaving him out of pocket.
He said: "They have not been making it easy to claim back compensation with endless forms to fill out and according to reviews some people have waited a year to get any money back.
"There has been a complete lack of ownership over the incident. Tui seems to be putting all blame with Albastar but we booked our holiday through them.
"Surely it still has responsibility if the sister companies they are using are failing to deliver and causing all hell to break loose?"
Another holidaymaker, Stephen Howes, added: "This has once again tainted my view of Tui.
"If we had been updated from the start I don't we would all feel so annoyed.
"The claims procedure is being made difficult even for the most tech-savvy.
"If they are at fault, couldn't the compensation be offered automatically since they have all our details in order to fly?"
Passengers have since been given a £100 holidayvoucher per person to be used through the company following the complaints.
A spokeswoman for Tui said: "We would like to apologise to customers impacted by the delayed Albastar-operated flight between Palma, Mallorca and Norwich on Friday.
"We understand how frustrating situations like this can be and would like to thank them for their patience and understanding."
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