EasyJet passengers stuck on plane for hours at Gatwick with ‘one glass of water each’

‘If I believed in purgatory, this would be it,’ one passenger said

A passenger on an easyJet flight has told how travellers were stuck on a plane for hours with “no food available” and were offered only “one glass of water”.

The flight from London Gatwick to Dubrovnik, Croatia was due to depart at 1.40pm Monday, but according to passenger Dominey Jenner, travellers were trapped on the plane for several hours and didn’t get off until 8.30pm when the flight was cancelled.

Posting on Twitter that evening, 44-year-old Jenner shared a video of passengers “stuck” on the plane, writing: “It’s full and there are young children on board. Should have departed at 1.40pm. We’ve been offered one glass of water and there’s no food available.”

I’m stuck on an @easyJet plane at Gatwick South. It’s full and there are young children on board. Should have departed at 1.40pm. We’ve been offered one glass of water and there’s no food available. @SimonCalder @ollysmithtravel @samstreetwrites pic.twitter.com/NkADjSkBC1

— Dominey Jenner (@domineyjenner) July 11, 2022

In previous tweets that day, the passenger claimed she and her family had passed through check-in at Gatwick South in just five minutes, and that there were “plenty of easyJet staff, working hard”.

Jenner later claimed her flight was delayed three hours and that she had to go back to the lounge, with “long queues and food shortages”.

“If I believed in purgatory, this would be it,” she said.

Ah, @easyJet, you were doing so well. But now our flight is delayed for 3 hours. Back to the lounge, the long queues and food shortages. If I believed in purgatory, this would be it. https://t.co/CV35XFzn6E pic.twitter.com/Uk1KIXk49n

— Dominey Jenner (@domineyjenner) July 11, 2022

Passengers were finally let on the plane at 4.30pm, according to Jenner, but they were then stuck on the plane for around four hours amid the unbearably hot weather.

Jenner described “mutiny” on board, “with people giving a deadline as to when they would simply leave”.

“I heard that the police at Gatwick were about to come and escort us off as they’d had calls from people on board,” she added.

The passengers managed to get off the plane at about 8.30pm, Jenner said, at which point buses took them back to the terminal for an hour of passport control – despite the fact they hadn’t gone anywhere.

EasyJet confirmed to Metro that no police attended and issued a statement apologising for the delay and subsequent cancellation of the flight, “due to a technical issue with the aircraft operating the flight”.

“Due to coaching delays as a result of staff sickness at Gatwick airport, customers were delayed in disembarking and while our crew did all possible to minimise the impact of the delay providing refreshments onboard, we fully understand and are very sorry for the difficulty this will have caused.”

Easyjet said they had told customers of their options to rebook or receive a full refund, along with information on “how to arrange this online or via the app”.

“Unfortunately there was limited hotel accommodation available in London Gatwick and so we advised customers who were required to source their own that they will be reimbursed.

“Our team is contacting Ms Jenner to apologise for her experience and offer any further assistance she may need.”

The claims come as travel chaos continues to hinder plans for millions of holidaymakers.

Heathrow Airport cancelled 61 flights on Monday which affected 10,000 passengers, and airlines were urged not to rebook passengers onto other flights that day.

The airport’s chief executive John Holland-Kaye said bosses will ask airlines to take “further action if necessary” if the already-planned reductions do not do enough to stop travel problems.