Easyjet sending misleading text that caused missed flight

outraged_

I'm not sure this is the correct place to post this, so if in the wrong place I apologise in advance.

I booked a flight for my mum from Gatwick to Lisbon which was to depart at 9:55 in morning, At 6:56 I received a text message on my phone with the following content:

"We're very sorry, due to a crew change your flight has been delayed. Please ask our colleagues at the airport for more information or check Flight Tracker. We apologise for the inconvenience".

I immediately checked both flight tracker and the Gatwick website for departures and both were saying the flight was delayed and scheduled to 11:55.

My mum was ready to go, she could have gone to the airport, but we ended up waiting and went later. On the way there all of a sudden the flight started showing "on time" and she subsequently missed her flight. Oh, and on the way there I rung customer services who put me on hold for ages to then drop my call.

At the Customer Services desk at Gatwick, there were three other people in the same situation, but Easyjet charged £80 to transfer people to the 5pm flight.

My question is whether there is anything we can do in these situations. It was obviously naivety on our behalf not to check the flight more often and not to have gone to the airport on time, but surely if they send a text saying it was delayed they should have sent another one saying it was back on time or not have sent anything at all? At no point did they say this is an "estimate", like the people at the desk were suggesting.

In hindsight I should have done a print screen of both websites to show the delay, but how could I have imagined that this would happen?

Can I at least try and get the £80 back from Easyjet?

Thank you in advance for any help!

Caz3121

outraged_ wrote: »

"We're very sorry, due to a crew change your flight has been delayed. Please ask our colleagues at the airport for more information or check Flight Tracker. We apologise for the inconvenience".

My mum was ready to go, she could have gone to the airport, but we ended up waiting and went later.

Unless you are notified otherwise you should always turn up at the airport at the original time. In the majority of delays the checkin and bag drops will still close at the original time and the notification is an automated courtesy
In the odd occasion you would be notified of a revised time to turn up at the airport (normally if a non-base location with no possibility of replacement aircraft etc) e.g. "please be advised that the revised checkin closure time will be xx:xx"
Unless you were advised of a new time to be at the airport, the original time still applies. Gatwick is a main Easyjet base so aircraft swap, alternative reschedule is always a possibility

outraged_ wrote: »

n hindsight I should have done a print screen of both websites to show the delay

you would need a print out of a notification that advises of a revised airport time not departure time

I think you made an incorrect assumption that a delay would mean you did not have to be at the airport at the original time unfortunately

CKhalvashi

The flight may have been delayed at that point, but the check in closure wasn't.

As above, there are 30ish Easyjet aircaft based at Gatwick, so an aircraft change is possible in these circumstances, especially at the bigger bases, which appears to have been the case here.