My journey home from Turkey

I finally arrived back into Gatwick Friday afternoon after spending a whole week listening to the European Commission Vice-President Slim Kallas informing the world that Europe could not operate flights safely and this could last a whole year, while the International Air Transport Association lead by their passionate Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani confirming a number of airlines had conducted numerous test flights with no damage to their fleets.  To compound the issue the pilots and cabin crew on a number of airlines were then threatening to walk out over safety fears!!!

My journey home started on the 16th April when I was told that I must attend the airport at 4am which meant waking my 2 young sons at 1.45am to make the 2am transfer, knowing that all flights had been cancelled into the UK which was in the public domain on the BAA website. Unfortunately it seems that not everyone has access to the internet these days!!!!!!

Once at Dalaman Airport to all 190 passengers surprise the flight was delayed and then cancelled.  The local airline (SAGA Airlines) kindly informed us that the flight was scheduled to leave but was stopped by UK air traffic control due to the ash cloud, and that it may take a couple of days to clear.

Once everyone had expressed their disappointment on having to make various journeys to the airport knowing that the flight was never going to depart the transfer company had left the airport leaving us all stranded in a empty airport with only the Turkish police for company.

A number of people were frantically calling various holiday companies trying to understand

1. Why were we in a empty airport
2. Where was the local representative and what were they doing
3. Was there a plan in place to accommodate 190 people included a number of young children and babies
4. Who was responsible for solving the issues
5. How long were we going to be stranded in the airport

Finally at around midday local time 8 hours after being dumped in the airport the area manager arrived to inform us that due to being a act of god they were not liable for providing accommodation nor food or water, which you can imagine caused some people to express their disappoint in a number ways I am unable to repeat.

This conversation lasted a couple of hours before a group of people who had for some reason elected my partner to be the spokesperson surrounded the airport manager to help assist us in contacting local accommodation until this situation could be resolved.  He was extremely helpful and contacted the Turkish airport director to explain that he had over 100 people including children spread all over his airport with no food or water, and a regional manager who was unable to make a commercial decision without phoning a friend!!!!

Finally after numerous conversations a fleet of coaches arrived taking us back to the resorts we were all staying in the previous week, and a promise to provide us with suitable accommodation until the ash cloud had cleared.  “At last” we all thought after 12 hours in an empty military airport… Weren’t we mistaken!!!!!

We finally arrived back into the resort around 6pm and ushered into a hotel which from the outside look a little like a youth hostel and checked into our rooms.  As soon as I opened the door I quickly realised that I could stay here with my 2 young sons and promptly checked out and ordered a taxi to take me to the hotel I had been staying at the previous week.

Finally I managed to obtain a room at a reasonable price and provide my children and partner with a bed at 10pm which was 21 hours after originally starting this adventure.  7 days later and a few hundred pounds lighter I boarded a coach back to the airport and arrived back in the UK in one piece.

I would like to personally thank the following people for their support during this act of god:

• SAGA Airlines, for their high quality customer service and never answering the phone or returning any of my messages

• Holidays 4U, for providing no support and leaving us stranded in the airport for 14 hours, and providing with a room that only had 2 single beds for 2 adults and 2 children

• Aegean Flights, for providing me with information which was 2 days out of date