Family stranded by travel firm collapse

7:00am Wednesday 17th September 2008

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A CHARMINSTER man marked his birthday yesterday with a sense of relief, having been stranded with his family in an airport for more than 24 hours after the following the collapse of travel firm XL.

Jamie Burns, 35, from Charminster, wife Joanna and children Hollie, seven, and Ruby, five months, finally got home at 1am yesterday, having waited an hour for luggage on arrival at Gatwick.

The delay meant Jamie, a management consultant, missed the first day of a new work contract and Hollie missed two days of school.

Jamie said they were treated "like cattle at Larnaca airport in Cyprus, and he felt they were dropped at the airport at 3pm on Sunday so they became someone else's problem.

After continued delays to the expected departure time, they were advised to bed down on plastic cafeteria chairs in the packed airport.

Passengers could not buy essentials such as nappies, and could not get access to medicines in their luggage.

Doctors were called in to deal with travellers who have rheumatoid arthritis, dehydration, heart conditions and asthma attacks.

Mr Burns said: "We were told we were not allowed to leave and go out of the airport to buy essentials.

"We were told if we left the airport we would lose our tickets, our flight home."

Mr Burns, whose holiday was through Libra Holidays, felt there was no alternative but to pay to get his family into the executive lounge.

Joanna, 40, said the airport had been booking passengers on to their flight long after the gate should have closed and passengers bound for Glasgow had to make their own way from Gatwick.

"The last bit of the holiday is what we will be talking about for a long time," she said.

"We were lucky. We got into the executive lounge.

"There were about 20 of us from the same flight. I think that helped. Somebody was watching the TV to tell you what was going on."