Gutted EasyJet sunseekers flown straight back to UK after landing in Portugal
Holidaymakers aboard an Easyjet flight were left gutted after they had flown to Madeira all the way from Bristol only to be brought straight back again.The flight took off towards the archipelago, which it circled twice before stopping for fuel at another airport, with not a single passenger getting off the plane before it was flown back to the UK.Passengers described "chaotic" scenes upon touching down in Bristol after their horrible 11-hour round-trip flight that got them nowhere.Passengers waited for nearly three hours before being bussed to Gatwick and checked into a hotel as the clocks neared midnight.The passengers were also told that they would have to get themselves to check-in at 5am the same morning to make a second attempt at flying across to Portgual.
EasyJet apologised for the huge delay citing high winds at Funchal Airport being behind the cancellation of a flight with passengers still on board.
Those on board have now finally arrived at Cristiano Ronaldo Airport, 24 hours later than first planned. Some of the passengers said the best thing about the experience was that they had developed a "great camaraderie" when faced with the deteriorating situation, The Mirror reported.
One said: "We saw Madeira from the air multiple times but never managed to land at Funchal - the diversion to Porto Santo, which was very nearby, was apparently to take on fuel to circle Funchal again several more times without landing."Another passenger, Cardiff University scientist Timothy Easun, said: "When we got back to Bristol it was chaotic and the phone line staff were giving little to no consistent information and frequently dropping the calls."There was a total lack of communication at Bristol.
