A DISGUSTED family were left sleeping on an airport floor after an easyJet flight had to make an emergency landing 650 miles away.
The claim the budget “abandoned” them in the wrong country before refusing them a refund leaving them furious.
A family were forced to sleep on an airport floor after their flight made an emergency landing
They claim Easyjet ‘abadoned’ them in a country hundreds of miles away from their destination
Darren Rainey and his family had to crash overnight at Split airport in Croatia
Darren Rainey and his family were flying from to last month when their flight had to make an emergency landing.
They were forced to touch down in a different country hundreds of miles away from their destination as a member of the cabin crew had fallen ill.
The 41-year-old said holidaymakers were told to wait onboard after touching down in Split, while a replacement crew member could be found.
Darren, from Hitchin, , claims that after a 90-minute wait, they were told it would be an overnight delay as they were unable to find a replacement and they were initially told they would be provided .
But after yet another 90-minute wait, staff told them they would find a way to pay for the accommodation themselves.
Darren said he couldn’t afford to pay for two rooms for his family and they were forced to sleep on the airport’s “rock hard, cold” floor after the airline left them “abandoned”.
The dad-of-three said: “No one knew why we were making the emergency stop until one of the cabin crew said it was because they were ill. If he was unwell then he never should have flown in the first place.
“We landed in Split and we were they were going to try and get someone else to take over and then we could fly again.
“It must have been 90 minutes and they turned around and said they were going to remove us all off the plane because they couldn’t get anyone else.
“We got all our luggage, came off the plane, went through passport control and they told us where to meet.
“We were told that Easyjet was going to find us all accommodation. It was another 90-minute wait and no one from Easyjet was there to announce the situation or what was going on.
“Then this lady that works in Split airport turned around and said that Easyjet are not accommodating us and we would have to find our own accommodation.
“At this point, we’ve come off the plane and the shops in Split airport are all shut so I couldn’t feed my family – there was no food and no restaurants around.”
Darren’s family were forced to sleep in the airport with “no food”
They eventually reached Crete a day later than they anticipated
Darren says that he and his wife decided to stay in the airport with their three teenage children because they didn’t know what time their replacement would be leaving the following day.
The said: “We didn’t know when we would be flying back out.
“We decided because they weren’t telling us what time we were flying – we were told potentially that we could be flying out in the morning – that we would stay in the airport and keep an eye on EasyJet’s update page.
“I stayed awake and watched the kids and a very nice lady who worked there came round and asked if we wanted some blankets.
“My kids were sleeping on a rock hard, cold floor. I stayed up through the night while my family closed their eyes, checking updates on the Easyjet app.”
The family’s replacement flight didn’t leave until 1.45pm the following day.
By the time they landed in Crete shortly before 6pm that evening, the family-of-five had lost out on almost a full day of their .
Darren says that he was left “upset” by the events at the airport and it “ruined” the start of his holiday.
“I’m pretty disgusted at how they went about it and then decided that we would fly in the afternoon,” he added.
“It didn’t bother me how I felt but it bothered me how my family were feeling.
“No one can sleep properly in a situation like that. It ruined my holiday from the time that happened until two or three days into my holiday.
“I was so overtired and stressed. I was just unhappy in every means.
“Eventually I sort of perked up but it’s hard when that never should have happened.”
The dad-of-three says that his wife complained to about the delay but the airline refused to give them a or provide them with any compensation.
Darren said: “Easyjet replied to my wife saying that they’re not paying out nothing because the plane had to make an emergency landing.
“We should still be getting something back in return because it’s a member of their staff.
“I’m really annoyed. We work hard and we deserve a holiday. We don’t deserve to be treated this way and abandoned in an airport with kids.”
But after being contacted by journalists, the airline apologised for the family’s ordeal and said they would refund the “lost night” as a “gesture of goodwill”.
An Easyjet holidays spokesperson said: “We’re really sorry for Mr Rainey and his family’s experience after their flight from Luton to Crete was diverted to Split, due to a crew member requiring urgent medical assistance.
“Our airline sourced a replacement crew member who could operate the following day but unfortunately this meant the flight was delayed overnight.
“Our team did everything possible to provide overnight accommodation for our customers in Split, but due to the busy holiday season, there was limited availability.
“We advised our customers that if they were able to make their own arrangements, we would refund the cost of the room, meals and travel.
“We understand this was a disappointing start to the family’s holiday, and not the experience we want for our customers. We’re in touch with Mr Rainey to apologise, offer a refund for the lost night, and provide a gesture of goodwill.”
Darren was initially refused a refund before journalists got in touch with the airline 
