Tui orders ill customers off flight from Cape Verde

Exclusive: After the ‘Boa Vista 47’ were offloaded at the island’s airport by Tui, it took days for them all to get home

The UK’s biggest holiday company, Tui, ordered 47 customers off a plane home from the Cape Verde islands – apparently fearful of a medical diversion.

The passengers were on board flight TOM227 at Boa Vista airport on Sunday 6 October. Their six-hour flight to Manchester was due to depart at 1.40pm, arriving that evening.

But many Tui holidaymakers staying on Boa Vista island had suffered gastric illness. Before departure, cabin crew asked anyone who had been ill during their holiday to switch on the overhead light above their seat.

Elizabeth Williams from Cumbria, 59, had suffered from sickness and diarrhoea. So along with around two dozen other passengers, she complied.

The captain then ordered all of those who indicated they had been ill to leave the aircraft for a medical check.

“All the passengers who complied with the request were told they would be taken back to the terminal to be examined by a local doctor,” said her daughter, Ruth Williams, 37.

Inside the terminal, Tui ground staff told passengers to pay £170 for the examination. Everyone refused, and the Tui representatives relented and said they could re-board the plane.

But the captain refused to allow them back on the aircraft. Instead she ordered their travelling companions – including Ruth Williams – to leave the plane, even if they had shown no symptoms of illness during their holiday.

“Transit cards were taken off us, and the terminal doors were locked,” Ms Williams said.

The captain then addressed the offloaded passengers. She said that Tui had told her not to carry anyone who might trigger a medical diversion “to another African country”.

Yet the 2,800-mile direct route from Boa Vista to Manchester remains well clear of the African mainland. It passes close to the Atlantic islands of Tenerife and Madeira, and near Santiago in northwest Spain.

Flight track: the shortest journey between Boa Vista island (BVC) and Manchester (MAN) (Great Circle Mapper)

After a further wait for the 47 passengers’ baggage to be removed, the plane took off for the UK three hours late – and a quarter empty.

The offloaded passengers were kept in the terminal for five hours, during which time they were given two small bottles of water but no food.

Eventually, they were taken to a local clinic where a doctor would examine them – free of charge.

Everyone was given a doctor’s note confirming their fitness to fly. This strange formality took place at around 9pm, about the time the plane was due to be landing at Manchester.

The “Boa Vista 47” were then taken to a local hotel that Ms Williams describes as “damp and filthy, with mould growing on the walls”.

Some of the group managed to return the following day on a Manchester flight, but Ms Williams and her mother were delayed for two further days.

They were flown to Gatwick, and put in a taxi for the 230-mile journey to Manchester. Rather than reaching home in Cumbria on Sunday evening, they arrived in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Others waited even longer and were flown to Manchester via the nearby island of Sal and Brussels.

A spokesperson for Tui said: “We can confirm, as a precautionary measure, any passengers reporting symptoms consistent with gastroenteritis were removed from flight TOM227 before departure from Cape Verde.

“The passengers were taken to a medical facility and given temporary accommodation until they obtained a fit to fly certificate. Alternative flights to the UK were then arranged, along with any transport where necessary.

“The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is always our highest priority. We are in contact with all affected customers to apologise for any inconvenience to their holiday.”

Ms Williams said: “The blame lies firmly with Tui, with no regard to customer care being given to ourselves or anyone else involved in this situation.

“They are not co-operating with us at all, and some people haven’t been contacted at all. We all feel angered and disappointed.”

It is understood that the offloaded passengers have been offered £1,000 per booking by Tui as “a gesture of goodwill”. But they are considering collective legal action.

In addition they are entitled to €600 (£518) per person in compensation under the European air passengers’ rights rules for being involuntarily offloaded.