EasyJet investigates after a woman woke up to discover that her flight was to Gibraltar instead of Belfast.
Gemma Cargin, who works as a teacher in Manchester, boarded a flight at Manchester Airport on Sunday (May 30) that she believed was going to Belfast but instead flew 1,276 miles away to the south coast of Spain, BelfastLive reports.
The County Down woman told BBC NI that although her boarding pass was scanned by airport staff, no one noticed she was making a detour to Northern Ireland.
She often travels back and forth to visit her family.
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On the subject of matching items
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On the subject of matching items
Gemma said, “I woke up from my nap and looked at the time and just asked, ‘When are we going to land, are we going to land soon?’
“They told me we’d be landing in an hour and 15 minutes – and I said, ‘Doesn’t this flight go to Belfast?’
“You told me it was going to Gibraltar. I said, ‘Guys, I’m on the wrong flight’. “
In a statement on the incident, an airline spokesman said: “EasyJet is working closely with all of our airports to ensure the safety of all passengers.
“We are investigating with the airport and our groundhandling partner in Manchester how Miss Cargin was able to travel on the wrong flight.
“As soon as the mistake was identified, they were arranged to fly back to Manchester and on to Belfast, their original destination.
“Miss Cargin was looked after by our team continuously and provided with refreshments.
“We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this caused.”
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Upon arriving in Gibraltar, Gemma was allowed to get off the plane for air and even managed to take a sightseeing tour up close to the plane – which meant she didn’t have to be quarantined on re-entry to the UK.
She was flown back to Manchester on the same machine before finally arriving in Belfast twelve hours later than expected.
While it wasn’t the short 40-minute flight she expected, the 25-year-old got some positive experiences from the experience.
“I’ve never been there so I can cross it off the list now.
“I have evidence the selfie was a souvenir,” she told the BBC.
