More than 100 passengers from Northern Ireland have been left stranded in Tunisia after an EasyJet flight home was cancelled due to technical problems, forcing families to spend thousands of pounds on alternative routes and leaving some without essential medication.
The aircraft operating the Enfidha-Hammamet to Belfast International service on 23 August experienced steering and other technical issues that prevented it from operating. Passengers completed normal departure procedures on Saturday night, collecting boarding passes and waiting at the gate for over two hours before the flight was cancelled in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The airline initially told stranded passengers it had no alternative flights available for 10 days, though it later announced an additional direct flight to Belfast on Tuesday evening. EasyJet said it would arrange onward transfers where needed and contact affected customers directly with flight information.
According to easyJet's disruption policy, the airline aims to get passengers on another easyJet flight to their destination within 24 hours, or offer alternative transport if no such flight is available. Passengers whose flights are cancelled within 14 days of departure, or delayed by more than three hours, may be eligible for EC261 compensation if the airline is responsible.
Stuart McCartney from Dromore, County Down, arrived in Tunisia on 15 August for a week-long family break with his wife, five children, and his mother Katherine. After the cancellation, he spent £4,000 arranging alternative flights for his family of five through Brussels and Dublin to get home by Wednesday. His mother relies on heart medication, and the family had to carefully monitor her remaining supply as the delay extended.
McCartney said EasyJet provided two nights of accommodation but then instructed the family to find and pay for their own lodging for the remainder of the delay.
I'm willing to pay £4,000 to get us home, if needs be, and then battle for reimbursement if I have to after that. But we shouldn't have to pay. My holiday was a fraction of what I'm paying to get home right now.
He described the pilot informing passengers that the aircraft had multiple technical problems, including an issue with its steering system. When he returned to the airport on Sunday, McCartney said an EasyJet agent could only examine the airline's own options and could not identify a route that would return his family home sooner. With his children due to return to school and adults expected back at work, he pursued independent alternatives.
Despite the stress, McCartney highlighted the support passengers have provided one another.
The camaraderie with people is unbelievable. We all are trying so hard for each other.He noted that his son, who was due to return to school and rugby training, experienced significant emotional distress upon learning of the delay.
Families grieving while stranded
Georgina Doherty, originally from Londonderry but now living in County Donegal, was travelling with her six children aged four to 16 when the flight was cancelled. Her husband had returned home a day earlier because his mother had taken ill; she has since died, leaving Doherty and her children stranded in Tunisia during their time of grief.
Like McCartney's family, Doherty and her children received two nights of accommodation from EasyJet. On the third day, they were told they would have to check out or pay upfront for the remainder of their stay—a cost she estimated at over €3,700 (£3,170).
Doherty described the compounding trauma of managing accommodation logistics while informing her children of their grandmother's death.
You couldn't actually have time to process it because we were so stressed out trying to secure the accommodation for the seven of us. You couldn't script it, what has happened.She said passengers felt abandoned by the airline due to a complete absence of communication.
Medical concerns amid the delay
Martina Murray from Belfast expressed desperation to return home because her mother is seriously ill. She has had to borrow money from friends and family to pay for alternative accommodation after leaving a hotel arranged by EasyJet, which she described as dirty.
Murray has COPD and has run out of her inhaler since being stranded in Tunisia. She received an email informing her that her flight had been cancelled but was unable to obtain further information from the airline despite multiple attempts to contact it.
Get us home, we need to get home now. I would never travel with them again.
Complaints over accommodation and communication
Natasha Dovbijenko, travelling with her husband and child, reported that the hotel provided by EasyJet was very dirty, with non-functional bathrooms. She described significant confusion over travel arrangements, including an attempt to separate her from her husband before they eventually secured a flight to Liverpool, from where they had to arrange their own onward travel to Ireland.
There's been no contact from EasyJet, just a message that night saying sorry to hear your flight was cancelled. They've treated us very bad. No contact. EasyJet have basically just left us.
EasyJet's response and support measures
An EasyJet spokesperson confirmed that the flight on 23 August
experienced a technical issue and was unable to operate. The airline stated it had been
doing everything we can to support our customers, providing hotel accommodation and meals and we will be reimbursing expenses that may have been incurred.
The airline announced it would operate an additional direct flight from Enfidha to Belfast on Tuesday evening and provide onward transfers where needed. EasyJet said it would contact customers directly with flight information and made a dedicated support number—03305515147—available for customers at Enfidha requiring assistance. Customers booked through easyJet holidays were also being contacted directly.
The airline emphasised that
the welfare of our customers is our highest priority and we are very sorry for the inconvenience caused.
Key Facts
- More than 100 passengers were booked on the cancelled Enfidha-Hammamet to Belfast International flight on 23 August
- The aircraft experienced technical problems including a steering issue that prevented it from operating
- Passengers spent between £3,170 and £4,000 on alternative flights and accommodation to return home
- Some passengers reported running out of essential medication, including heart medication and COPD inhalers
- EasyJet arranged two nights of accommodation before instructing passengers to find and pay for their own lodging
