TUI customers who had to wait days for a new flight have slammed the firm for their lack of communication throughout their arduous wait.
Families looking to get away for a relaxing holiday to Majorca faced a frustrating delay of more than 42-hours due to a technical issue with the plane which was originally meant to take-off at 7.20pm on June 24.
In a statement on June 26 the airline wrote: “We have kept customers updated throughout sending communications when we are informed by our supplier on when they will be able to operate this flight."
However a number of customers have said updates were few and far between.
Jack Sinclair, from Lakenham, was ready to board the flight with his family in anticipation for his mum's 60th birthday.
%image(14477908, type="article-full", alt="Pictured left to right: John Sinclair, Jack Sinclair, and Verity Sinclair.")
The 32-year-old said: "It was frustrating.
"There were passengers trying to call them but they didn't seem to know what was happening.
"We didn't get an update from TUI until the end of the next day.
%image(14477910, type="article-full", alt="The plane was seen docked in a hangar at Norwich Airport.")
"The flight was outsourced to AlbaStar airlines and it was like the two were trying to work out who's responsibility it was to fix the problem.
"It felt like we were being caught up in a game.
"We finally got an update Saturday night saying a new flight was going at 11.30am on Sunday.
"Even then the flight was delayed until 2pm."
Another passenger, Sharon Dee, echoed the frustration at the lack of communication saying: "We were left hanging basically.
"We said there would be an update at 9pm on Friday, which became 10pm, then 11pm before we got told the flight wasn't going ahead.
%image(14477911, type="article-full", alt="Jack Sinclair, 32, said: "TUI didn't seem to know what was happening."")
"I appreciate if something's wrong with the plane then it can't go up - but for TUI not to contact us until the end of the next day, on Saturday, it was frustrating.
"We went back to the airport on Saturday morning and the plane was still sat on the tarmac until it was taken into a hanger around 4pm - it became obvious nothing had been done.
"If TUI had said something it will have helped but all this time we'd sat there and nothing had been said."
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