A couple missed their flight after a series of delays and "total chaos" at their airport.
Sue and Murray Stewart lost out on their eagerly-awaited two-week holiday to Croatia following the issues at Bristol Airport. They had hoped to fly from there with easyJet to Split last week - but instead spent their break on a campervan holiday in Gloucestershire.
Queues at the drop-off point, congestion for transfer buses, and overcrowding inside the airport meant the couple missed their flight, which was at 6.10am. Bristol Airport has since issued an apology, attributing the delays to terminal congestion and a problem with the baggage sorting system.
Sue, who works as an admin worker at a special needs school in Bristol, maintained that they arrived with plenty of time to spare, but were immediately confronted with "total chaos". She recounted: "We made sure we were there in good time.
"When we arrived at the car park, it was packed with people and vehicles trying to get in. We could see the Silver Zone entrance and there were people queuing all over the place, which is something I've never experienced before. We parked and the queue for the key drop was quite horrendous, as well as the queue at the surrounding building.
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"We weren't sure how long it would be. The queue for the bus was no better - there clearly wasn't enough busses and no one managing the queue. Like there people who needed to travel to the terminal for earlier flights than earlier, so they should be prioritised."
Bristol Airport has apologised for the recent delays (Getty Images)After dropping off their car keys, the pair slowly waited for a transfer bus to Bristol Airport along with dozens of other passengers. With time ticking and anxious they would miss their flight, the couple made their way to luggage check-in, but faced further delays.
Sue told Bristol Live: "The easyJet check-in queue was massive. At that point, we just thought we weren't going to make it. We did manage to run to FastTrack to an easyJet rep who was helping people out."
"We ran upstairs and because we were late, the booking pass to get into security wouldn't let us in. The security guard was really helpful and got us through and by this time, the flight was boarding. When we got through security, it said 'gate closed'."
"The gate number disappeared and there was no TUI rep or easyJet rep. We were hanging around as we would be a no-show on the flight and someone would get us. We were waiting for our bags to be returned back to us and were unsure if they were on the flight."
Disappointed about missing their flight, the pair were able to get their bags back before they returned to Silver Zone. They had to wait nearly an hour for their vehicle to be returned. Following a complaint lodged with Bristol Airport, Sue recounted: "There were a lot of people who probably missed their flights. What was going to be done - nothing there was no resolution."
The couple is hoping for some compensation after losing £2,000 and Sue added: "We hope for some compensation but we have to wait from travel ensure. We have lost £2,000. I have lived in Bristol and always flown from Bristol Airport, but we have never seen anything like this ever."
She also mentioned: "It would be nice to have something back from Bristol Airport about the complaint but nothing so far and that was Sunday."
In response, a spokeswoman for Bristol Airport offered an apology for the inconvenience caused by delays. The official statement read: "We apologise for the longer than average waiting times experienced at the airport for a short period of time on Sunday 26 May."
The statement further explained: "Customer volumes were high ahead of the Bank Holiday getaway and some congestion was experienced throughout the terminal, and this was further impacted due to an isolated issue with the baggage sortation system."
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"We are collaborating with all business partners on site, and reviewing how we can provide additional contingency to avoid a repeat of the problems experienced by customers on Sunday morning."
"We advise customers to ensure they allow sufficient time to complete the relevant processes when flying from Bristol Airport this summer and arrive in the terminal a minimum of two hours prior to flight departure time to allow sufficient time to complete all the necessary check-in, bag-drop, security and boarding processes ahead of their flight and allowing additional transfer time if parking in the Silver Zone car park."
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