Family stuck in holiday hell as flight back to Manchester cancelled THREE times

A family whose flights from Milan to Manchester Airport were cancelled on Friday due to the global IT outage said their dream holiday had been “ruined”. Nicole Raby was on a four-day break to picturesque Lake Como in Italy with her mother Lisete Raby, 53, and sister Tracy Raby when her planned Ryanair flight was among thousands cancelled on July 19.

Nicole and her mum are still trying to get home on Sunday after facing two more cancellations over the weekend. Tracey managed to get home on one of the few flights back to the UK still operating – but after shelling out almost £1,000 for extra flights and hotels.

Tracey, 26, told the Mirror her family were desperate to get home after being let down by Ryanair, ITA and easyJet. She criticised the airlines for their “outrageous” lack of support. When her Ryanair flight was cancelled on Friday night, she said she was given “no information” about what her family could do or whether they could get a hotel.

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Nicole and her mother then decided to buy a flight the next day with easyJet and booked a hotel in Milan, with no guarantee that this would be covered by her travel insurance or the airline due to the “extraordinary circumstances” of the cancellations. But she said her experience with easyJet on Saturday was the “worst” of the whole ordeal, as they waited seven hours at Milan airport only to be told that flight was also cancelled. They were then told the next available flights were on Tuesday, as all the others were fully booked.

Nicole said there were scenes of panic at the gates as people were told they would not be boarding the flight, even though the plane was visible on the runway outside. Nicole told the Mirror: “As you can imagine it was chaos – there was an old couple shouting, everyone was trying to ask questions but there was no information. They were not trying to help us at the airport and were telling us to wait for email updates. Overall there was very little support – it was really stressful.”

They then attempted to fly home from Milan to Naples with ITA Airways, but were informed hours before take-off that this connection had also been cancelled. Fearing further disappointment, they have now booked a return flight on Sunday afternoon on an indirect route, meaning they will both have to stopover in Copenhagen before reaching the UK.

On top of the stress of being stuck away from home and having to abandon several plans to return, Nicole’s mother is caring for an elderly family member, adding to their need to get home as soon as possible. “It’s horrible and it’s been so stressful,” she added. “For everyday life too, we want to get home now.”