Izzy Ramsay, 21, flew to Mallorca with her 18-month-old son Blair and partner Mackenzie, 22, for a five-day holiday she had booked two months ago – but the trip soon turned into a nightmare
A young mum was left terrified she would be stranded in Majorca after her family’s seats on their return flight were unexpectedly cancelled. Izzy Ramsay, 21, had travelled from Prestwick, Scotland, to Palma de Mallorca Airport with her 18-month-old son Blair and partner Mackenzie, 22, for a five-day holiday they had planned two months prior.
They were joined by her friend Issy Mulholland and the group enjoyed their time under the sun at Bluesea Cala Millor, a short distance from the airport. But their journey back home to Knightswood soon turned into a nightmare. The family’s easyJet return flight to Glasgow Airport was scheduled to depart Spain just before 7pm local time on Saturday, May 10. But when Izzy approached the check-in desk, her booking could not be located.
While friend Issy managed to check-in and obtain her boarding pass, Izzy and Mackenzie, whose toddler was suffering from a fever and heat stroke, were informed that their seats on the plane had been cancelled. This news triggered a panic attack in the young mum.
“They said we’ve been taken off the plane and I was freaking out,” Izzy told Glasgow Live. “I would have remembered if I cancelled the flight. No one has logged into my account or has access to the booking. [Airport staff] said I’d have to book a new flight so I went on to check and there were no flights back to Glasgow. There were spaces left on the plane so I asked if me and my son could get on and then his dad could wait for the next plane.
“They basically said we were going to be stuck in Palma for a few days. We couldn’t go anywhere because of all the rioting against tourism. We couldn’t drive back to the hotel because we gave the hire car back and a return taxi would have cost us £400. I had to beg to get on the plane.”
The family-of-three eventually secured seats on the flight, but it came at a cost – an additional £300 on top of the £900 they’d already shelled out for their holiday via Love Holidays. Izzy said: “I was terrified of not being able to get home. Blair had heat stroke and was really ill, I tried to speak to pharmacists and doctors but no one could understand me.
“I tried to get in touch with a family nurse back in Glasgow but I couldn’t get hold of her to figure out how to get his temperature down. I was freaking out and so scared I wasn’t going to be able to get home or anywhere in Palma.
“The thought of having to use our rent money to get back was terrifying. When I finally boarded the plane, everyone was asking about the commotion as they had seen me having panic attacks at the airport.”
The mum added: “Blair was so upset and with everything going on, he couldn’t sleep. He was really tired and upset, and wouldn’t eat anything. We didn’t have any milk left because we only had one bottle left for the flight and that was the only thing we managed to get him to have. This was my first time being abroad in my entire life and it ruined my holiday, it was so traumatising thinking about being stuck in that airport.”
A spokesperson for easyJet said that the airline did not cancel the booking, and that it was cancelled by the third-party booker “10 minutes after the booking was made” on March 11. They added that a refund was issued.
Their statement reads: “As the cancellation was done online, we are unable to confirm if this was requested by the customer or Love Holidays, however if the method of payment was Love Holidays’, they are responsible for passing the refund onto their customer and notifying them.”
Love Holidays said they were “very sorry to hear of Ms Ramsay’s experience”. A spokesperson stated that, following an investigation into the issue, the flight was cancelled through easyJet’s online Manage my Booking function approximately 10 minutes after Izzy booked her holiday.
They also confirmed that easyJet have refunded the cost of the flights back to Love Holidays – minus a £49 cancellation fee – who are “processing this for the customer now”.
