easyJet Cancellation Leaves Family in Turkey for Nearly a Week
A British family was left in Dalaman, Turkey, for almost a week after easyJet cancelled their 22 August flight to Bristol because of an aircraft technical problem. Macy Neve Flye was travelling with her boyfriend and three of his relatives, including a five-year-old. With alternative flights extremely limited during the busy summer period, the group was eventually split between replacement services on 27 and 28 August.
Their original flight was scheduled to leave Dalaman at 11.25pm. After waiting beyond departure time, passengers were told at around 12.30am to check their emails, where they learned the service had been cancelled. Around 150 people were affected. Flye’s group was moved to another hotel because the first property could not accommodate everyone, while easyJet provided meals and arranged replacement travel.
“As you can imagine, it has just been awful and stressful. We had budgeted for a two-week holiday."
easyJet confirmed that a technical problem caused the cancellation. Under UK261, ordinary aircraft technical faults are generally not classed as "extraordinary circumstances", although the precise cause still matters. Dalaman–Bristol is around 2,970km, placing it in the 1,500–3,500km compensation band. With the replacement flights arriving several days later, affected passengers could be eligible for £350 each if the UK261 conditions are met.
What Happened After the Cancellation
- Route: Dalaman (DLM)–Bristol (BRS), 22 August.
- Cancellation: easyJet says an aircraft technical problem stopped the flight operating.
- Accommodation: easyJet provided hotel accommodation and meals while passengers waited.
- Replacement flights: The family was split between services on 27 and 28 August.
- Alternative flights: easyJet said options with other airlines and indirect routes were extremely limited.
- Extra costs: The airline said it would reimburse expenses incurred; passengers should keep itemised receipts for reasonable costs.
- Compensation: A UK261 claim of £350 per person may be possible, depending on the precise cause of the technical problem.
“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is our highest priority and we have been doing all we can to support the family, including providing hotel accommodation and meals."
Anyone still needing to get home should ask about re-routing before choosing a refund. CAA guidance says cancelled passengers can choose reimbursement or an alternative flight, and if another airline can reach the destination significantly sooner, they may have the right to be booked onto it. While waiting for re-routing, reasonable meals, accommodation and transport must be provided; if passengers pay themselves, they should keep itemised receipts.
