Wirral mum demands apology from travel firm for 'extremely distressing' end to holiday
WIRRAL mum is demanding an apology from travel firm Thomas Cook for the distress caused to her family at the end of a holiday in Turkey.
Michelle Downer and 12-year-old autistic son Luke were due to fly home from the Didum Beach resort via Bodrum Airport on October 25, but because of problems with the aircraft and bad weather, were unable to take off that day.
So they, along with 120 other passengers were taken to another hotel in what Miss Downer described as a 'non-tourist area'.
She alleges that Thomas Cook refused to supply refreshment for the passengers, who were, as a result, forced to club together and go and buy food from a nearby shop.
Thomas Cook denied the allegations, adding that they had apologised for the inconvenience caused and worked hard to ensure the affected holidaymakers had suitable accommodation while waiting for the plane to be repaired.
Miss Downer told the Globe: "I'd run out of Turkish Lira and had credit cards but there were no cash machines nearby.
"So we had to club together and throw money into a kitty to buy food because Thomas Cook wouldn’t supply any refreshments.
"It was really embarrassing because I had to rely on other people to give me money.
"The hotel did supply a plate of bread ends, salad and cheese, which clearly wasn't enough or acceptable."
They left the hotel the following morning and arrived back in Manchester at 4pm that day.
They were assured, on the flight home, that there would be a representative from Thomas Cook waiting to answer their questions at Manchester Airport. But, according to Miss Downer, there was no-one there.
She has described the experience as 'extremely distressing', adding: "When we got off the plane in Manchester, there was no-one from Thomas Cook to answer our questions.
"I just feel as though we were totally abandoned by Thomas Cook and want an apology. Not had one yet."
A spokesman for Thomas Cook Airlines said: "We'd like to sincerely apologise to our customers for the long delay to their flight from Bodrum to Manchester, which was caused by an unexpected technical fault, after a diversion due to bad weather, which required repair overnight in Turkey.
"We've provided welfare and hotel rooms overnight for our customers.
"We know how frustrating these delays are, and we'd like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding.
"We'd also like to apologise further to those customers were moved from their hotel during the day on October 25.
"We have worked hard to ensure that they now have suitable overnight accommodation for the evening of Saturday October 25 prior to their departure on Sunday."
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