Jet2 Holiday Disaster

Fair_One

Last month my family and I (4, 2 adults, 2 children) went on holiday to Malta. The holiday was booked with Jet2 and I also booked the usual extras with them, such as hotel transfers, insurance etc. We booked in at Manchester Airport in the usual way and made our way to the departure gate once called forward. We were one of the last to check in and we were then held in the departure area as our flight was delayed. whilst there my 7 year old daughter said she felt unwell and vomited. She was fine before and after the sickness and at no point had given us any reason to think she was unwell and unfit to travel. We put the episode down to nerves, excitement and the fact that we were held in a cramped and hot departure area with no seating available. The Jet2 staff in the departure lounge were very helpful and assisted us in cleaning up the mess. After and hour of waiting we boarded the aircraft and took our seats. after about 10 minutes a member of the cabin crew approached my wife and inquired about our daughter, she asked my daughter how she was feeling and then returned to the front of the aircraft seemingly happy that my daughter was in good health. A few moments later my wife and I were summoned to the front of the aircraft were we were told by the captain that we must leave the aircraft due to our daughter vomiting in the departure lounge. We protested that this was a one off but the captain informed us that the decisions was made by Med Air (a doctor in Arizona!) and he had to obey. He agreed with us that our daughter did seem in good health but if someone has vomited within 2 hours before a flight then we are not allowed to fly, so on this advice we (all 4 of us) were removed from the aircraft (We were told later in Malta by a passenger that the captain announced that the delay was due to us! which was not the case and caused further embarrassment).

We wanted to continue with our holiday as it had cost almost £2800, so the Jet2 duty manager, found us a new flight from Leeds the following day. This presented us with the problem of getting to Leeds, finding accommodation there and an airport transfer. On top of all this we would have to pay a further £450 for the new flight!

The holiday went well and we had a lovely time.

On return Jet2 were not interested in what happened to us, they were more than happy to take our money though.

I have tried to make an insurance claim with CSAL who provide Jet2's holiday insurance but they have said that the policy carries an excess of £150 per person, although in the T's & C's this is unclear and I read it as per claim?

So we have been left £600 out of pocket, lost a day of an expensive holiday (which was also my birthday and a reason for the trip). and were sold an insurance policy which was completely inadequate by Jet2 for the situation Jet2 placed us in, suffered the embarrassment of being removed from the aircraft and further embarrassment being questioned about the incident by random members of the original flight whilst on holiday!

We are certain that our daughter can't be the first child to be sick in an airport, but to be removed without a medical examination or even some basic questions such as, does the child look unwell? have a temperature? have a history of travel sickness etc, surely this can't be right?

Ultimately I would like as much of my money back as I can get and I don't think it would be unreasonable to be compensated in some way by Jet2 for the day's holiday that we missed, but I am struggling to get anywhere.

Thank you for bearing with this post, I know it's a long one but we would genuinely appreciate any advice that will help us resolve this.

blindman

Fair_One wrote: »

Last month my family and I (4, 2 adults, 2 children) went on holiday to Malta. The holiday was booked with Jet2 and I also booked the usual extras with them, such as hotel transfers, insurance etc. We booked in at Manchester Airport in the usual way and made our way to the departure gate once called forward. We were one of the last to check in and we were then held in the departure area as our flight was delayed. whilst there my 7 year old daughter said she felt unwell and vomited. She was fine before and after the sickness and at no point had given us any reason to think she was unwell and unfit to travel. We put the episode down to nerves, excitement and the fact that we were held in a cramped and hot departure area with no seating available. The Jet2 staff in the departure lounge were very helpful and assisted us in cleaning up the mess. After and hour of waiting we boarded the aircraft and took our seats. after about 10 minutes a member of the cabin crew approached my wife and inquired about our daughter, she asked my daughter how she was feeling and then returned to the front of the aircraft seemingly happy that my daughter was in good health. A few moments later my wife and I were summoned to the front of the aircraft were we were told by the captain that we must leave the aircraft due to our daughter vomiting in the departure lounge. We protested that this was a one off but the captain informed us that the decisions was made by Med Air (a doctor in Arizona!) and he had to obey. He agreed with us that our daughter did seem in good health but if someone has vomited within 2 hours before a flight then we are not allowed to fly, so on this advice we (all 4 of us) were removed from the aircraft (We were told later in Malta by a passenger that the captain announced that the delay was due to us! which was not the case and caused further embarrassment).

We wanted to continue with our holiday as it had cost almost £2800, so the Jet2 duty manager, found us a new flight from Leeds the following day. This presented us with the problem of getting to Leeds, finding accommodation there and an airport transfer. On top of all this we would have to pay a further £450 for the new flight!

The holiday went well and we had a lovely time.

On return Jet2 were not interested in what happened to us, they were more than happy to take our money though.

I have tried to make an insurance claim with CSAL who provide Jet2's holiday insurance but they have said that the policy carries an excess of £150 per person, although in the T's & C's this is unclear and I read it as per claim?

So we have been left £600 out of pocket, lost a day of an expensive holiday (which was also my birthday and a reason for the trip). and were sold an insurance policy which was completely inadequate by Jet2 for the situation Jet2 placed us in, suffered the embarrassment of being removed from the aircraft and further embarrassment being questioned about the incident by random members of the original flight whilst on holiday!

We are certain that our daughter can't be the first child to be sick in an airport, but to be removed without a medical examination or even some basic questions such as, does the child look unwell? have a temperature? have a history of travel sickness etc, surely this can't be right?

Ultimately I would like as much of my money back as I can get and I don't think it would be unreasonable to be compensated in some way by Jet2 for the day's holiday that we missed, but I am struggling to get anywhere.

Thank you for bearing with this post, I know it's a long one but we would genuinely appreciate any advice that will help us resolve this.

Challenge this

that the decisions was made by Med Air (a doctor in Arizona!)

Ask for T&C's that state this from Jet2

Bogalot

The best you're going to get here is a goodwill gesture.

Medaire offer a medical advice service to the air industry, they cover most (if not all) UK airlines. The pilot has the right to refuse travel if they believe you pose a health risk to yourself or others (for instance, if your daughter may have a bug that could be passed on). The pilot will take advice on this from a suitably qualified source in making this decision, Medaire in this case.

The above is covered in the terms and conditions under Fitness to Travel.

Regarding your insurance, Jet2 sell insurance on a non advisory basis, they offer you a policy and it is up to you to decide if it meets your needs. Page 2 of the policy document states the excess is per person. It's pretty clear I'm afraid.

In addition to the above, when you select which policy you want it states: "Cover Levels: (Per Person)".

blindman

Bogalot wrote: »

The pilot will take advice on this from a suitably qualified source in making this decision, Medaire in this case.

The above is covered in the terms and conditions under Fitness to Travel.

How the h**l can some Dr who is not present diagnose an illness and declare said child Unfit to travel???

Child vomits once and then is fine.

Totally unreasonable.

Contact Jet2 stating you will expect them to pay all costs for the delay and if no response LBA calim costs back via MCOL.

Moosegoose

Firstly I feel for you having such a torrid start to your vacation but writing as senior cabin crew with a world renowned carrier I have to agree with the decision to deny travel taken by the Jet 2 Captain.

If there is any doubt about a passengers fitness to fly the flight deck must be informed and it is ultimately the Captains decision whether to allow travel after consultation with a medical professional.A vomiting episode of unknown cause so close to departure would certainly red flag a traveller.Decisions to offload are not taken lightly but a flight simply cannot be held until a passenger has physically been assessed by a Dr in person.

It transpires this was an isolated incident probably as you say caused by a mixture of excitement and being confined in a crowd but have you considered the implications if it had turned into something more serious.Believe you me a medical emergency at 37000 feet is not something any airline professional would risk along with the possibility of a costly and inconvenient diversion.The comfort and safety of all on board are the crews main concern.

Incidentally Medaire provide an expert service and the U.K. call centre is based at Farnborough so no not some doc in Arizona which I believe is where the company headquarters are located.

Bit unfair of the flight deck to blame you for an already delayed departure but offloading your party may have resulted in a further missed slot prolonging the time spent on the gate.Also having found you an alternative flight I do think that given the circumstances the cost to change should have been minimal but then that's budget airlines for you.

And no this is not the airline I am employed by!!!!

malkie76

Standard procedure in most nurseries is to send a child home for 48 hours if they vomit. No medical review is necessary, and I'd support any airline with a similar policy to offload - I'm surprised they let you board and risk other passengers.

Harsh as it sounds I think they did the right thing.

Andypandyboy

I imagine there are quite a few passengers who vomit before flying and no one is any the wiser as they do it in the toilets.

We recently flew with Jet2 and on our return flight one of the crew was full of a running cold and in her own words"couldn't breathe" as she handed out snacks and drinks. True to form both me and my partner got the cold, (and it was a stinker), and passed it through our family. I would be interested to know what the rules for staff are in these circumstances.

jpsartre

blindman wrote: »

How the h**l can some Dr who is not present diagnose an illness and declare said child Unfit to travel???

It's probably more accurate to say that the captain decided there was a risk that the child was unfit to travel. The fact that an examination couldn't be carried out actually supports the captain's decision IMO. No way of knowing for sure what the issue is and better to err on the side of caution than having to divert midflight or end up with a bunch of sick passengers.

PeacefulWaters

blindman wrote: »

How the h**l can some Dr who is not present diagnose an illness and declare said child Unfit to travel???

Child vomits once and then is fine.

Totally unreasonable.

Contact Jet2 stating you will expect them to pay all costs for the delay and if no response LBA calim costs back via MCOL.

I don't think MCOL will make a judgement in favour of the OP.

meer53

OP, how would you have reacted if your daughter had vomited as the result of a developing serious infection or other medical issue which worsened after take off ? You have to see both sides to the decision which was made.

PasturesNew

Another scenario that could've developed: My child was sick, we were allowed to board, she became unwell, she died on the flight, we had to suffer the embarrassment and her body was put into the loo (away from other passengers' eyes) and we have had to pay £15,000 repatriation fee as we knew she was ill before the plane took off.

WHY DIDN'T THE AIRLINE STOP US FLYING????

Their rules say "if sick/2 hours...." - if they'd done that our child would've gone to a UK hospital an hour later when she collapsed - and wouldn't have died - and we'd not be out of pocket £15k.

Somebody has to make a decision. They did.