Brits stunned as TUI advertises seven-night holiday in Santorini for just £5
If you feel you're a bit too cash-strapped to jet off this summer, then you'd certainly be forgiven for thinking that this getaway deal would be to good of a deal to pass up.
For less than you might pay on your daily commute into work, TUI offered holidaymakers - and those who just love a bargain - a seven-night holiday on a lusted after Greek island of Santorini for just £5.42.
No, really!
The break appeared on Wednesday (12 July), however, there was one apparent catch.
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Travellers had to have their bags at the ready and hop on board a flight at 7am the next day.
But providing you have seven days of annual leave and someone around to watch the cat, it seems like a small price to pay (pun intended) for an idyllic island break.
The unbelievable deal also included seven nights, bed and breakfast, at the Caldera View Resort, Megalochori that has four out of five stars on TripAdvisor.
Pretty nice.
And one generous Twitter user decided to share the bargain with everyone else.
They wrote: "If anyone is able to fly at very short notice from Manchester at 7am tomorrow morning then you can have a week in Santorini for £5.42p each. Thank me now!"
However, when other keen holidaymakers tried to follow suit, they were apparently met with an 'technical error' message.
Heading back to their keyboards, one tweeted their disappointment: "But if you try to book it says there’s a technical error."
"It’s a system error people," another claimed.
And a third said: "I can get to book, then when you try to add names it comes up with technical error."
TUI replied to tell customers that it was in fact incorrect and that the package had actually sold out.
They then reassured customers that their IT teams were in the process if resolving the issue.
Some holidaymakers argued, however, that the travel company should have to 'honour' the deal regardless of the 'technical error'.
"Advertised so have to honour?" one tweeted hopefully.
While another took a skeptical stance, saying: "There's probably a clause where they can get out of it or maybe say that all the holidays at that price have been booked."
A spokesperson for TUI has since released a statement: "Unfortunately, a technical error meant our website was incorrectly showing a holiday package to Santorini for £5. The holiday in question was already sold out and was no longer bookable.
"We do offer great value deals but unfortunately this was a technical blip. We appreciate our customers being understanding as our IT teams work to resolve the issue."
The hotel also confirmed that these prices were 'not the rates that are valid this season'.
Seems like you might need to dig a little deeper for a getaway after all.
Amelia Jones