Passengers on TUI Flight Deboarded Due to Overweight Airbus A320, Preventing Takeoff

TUI, a travel agency, apologized to passengers of a flight bound for Turkey on Sunday after they were left stranded in Exeter overnight.

Freebird Airlines Airbus A320 operated the flight on Saturday. The crew reportedly told passengers to leave the aircraft because of weight issues.

This bizarre incident shocked passengers and caused others to become upset as the flight was delayed for more than 16 hours. The nightmare was made worse by the fact that travelers were required to return the following day to the airport rather than staying in nearby hotels.

A TUI spokesperson confirmed this incident in a statement sent to DevonLive.

"We completely understand the frustration of customers who were due to be on flight FHY546 from Exeter yesterday and we would like to apologise for the delay in their journey. The flight, operated by Freebird, experienced a technical issue prior to take off."

The company called the incident a "technical problem," but passengers were told that the A320 had too much weight. As a solution, some passengers saw suitcases randomly removed from the plane. However, the action did not seem to help. One passenger reported that the plane began taxiing down the airport, but that passengers were told that it was unsafe to continue the flight.

The travelers were then instructed to deplane out of precaution. The company claims that the aircraft was working well when boarding began. However, after the captain completed the final checks a performance issue with the weight restriction was discovered. Engineers had to inspect the aircraft and fix the problem. TUI didn't say how long the delays would last, but they did mention that there was no room in nearby hotels for passengers to wait. This caused even more inconvenience.

"Due to hotel availability in Exeter, customers were required to return home." the company mentioned. "Expenses can be claimed back for travel and sustenance expenses. Those customers travelling on a TUI package will receive a one-day pro rata refund."

One passenger claimed that TUI would be held accountable for the refunds.

"It was bit of a nightmare to be honest," they said to DevonLive. "We will definitely be asking questions of the company. They have only offered us the equivalent of one day's holiday back."

A significant delay

The company responded by explaining that the passengers had "received all communications" regarding how to obtain their money, as well as instructions on how they could file a claim for compensation with the airline in accordance with EU regulations.

According to DevonLive the flight finally left Exeter at 8:40 on Sunday morning to Alanya. This was more than 16-hours after its original departure time.

The airline thanked passengers for their patience.

Source: simpleflying.com