Couple banned from Tui return flight home after being accused of vaping on plane
A couple who have never smoked were banned from their Tui return flight home after being accused of vaping on the outward journey.
Lois Light, 27, and her partner Dexter were on a Tui flight from Gatwick to Lanzarote earlier this month when two rowdy passengers were caught vaping by cabin crew.
The couple then landed in Lanzarote, enjoyed a lovely week-long break in the Canaries, and thought nothing of it.
That was until the afternoon of their return flight (9 July) when they were called in by their Tui rep and told they were banned from getting on the flight back to the UK.
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Lois and Dexter were accused of having vaped on the outward flight, with the couple insisting it was a case of mistaken identity.
Nonetheless, the airline insisted they would have to book a flight back with another airline if they wanted to get back home.
The holidaymakers were forced to shell out nearly £500 to get an easyJet flight back, seven hours after their initial intended departure time with Tui.
Lois, a nurse from Norwich, Norfolk, said: "It ruined our holiday and has caused a huge amount of stress since.
"It is shocking that a mistake like this can happen and Tui said there was nothing they could do to help and seemed to not believe us."
Once they had returned home, the couple made complaints to the holiday company, but alleged Tui initially stood by its decision.
They claim the airline continued to accuse the pair of vaping on board and of bad behaviour.
"We tried saying there was a mix-up but initially, everyone we spoke to said there was nothing they could do," Lois said.
"You’d think they would be able to look at the CCTV on the plane or see we did not match the description from staff.
"I was even asleep at the time with headphones on so I didn't even know it had happened."
The couple posted about their experience on Facebook, with Tui since accepting liability.
The airline has offered compensation and paid for the couple's easyJet flight, but Lois doesn't think it is enough.
She said: "They've paid our expenses and offered £500 compensation each - but that's not enough.
"It's not like the air con was broken in our hotel, or the food made us ill - they've wrongly accused us of something which is a horrible feeling."
In a statement, a Tui spokesperson said: “We are sincerely sorry for the ordeal they experienced on their journey home from Lanzarote.
“Unfortunately, a human error meant that the couple were falsely identified as disruptive passengers following their flight.
“We have since apologised to the couple and offered them compensation and have paid for the travel costs as well as offering them a goodwill gesture.
“Instances like this are extremely rare, and we take security matters very seriously.
“We can only continue to apologise for this error, and we hope that the couple were still able to enjoy their holiday before this unfortunate mix-up.”
Callum Jones