A family who were bound for a week's holiday in Lanzarote are back home after a check-in desk mix-up meant they caught a flight to Turkey instead.
Charles Coray, his wife Tanya and their nine-year-old daughter Phoebe did not realise the mistake until they landed and a hostess said "welcome to Turkey".

They were issued the wrong boarding passes by a ground handling worker at Cardiff airport on Sunday morning.

A spokesman for handling agents Servisair apologised for the upset caused and said the passenger service agent who accepted them onto the wrong flight had been suspended from duty pending a hearing.

On the one hand, it's the passenger's stupid fault for not checking their documents.

I'm guessing they just thought Bodrum was where the airport was, which given the arsehole-of-nowhere cheapass airports that charter firms use they just reckoned they'd never heard of for whatever reason. It's quite possible they wondered about it but just though "hey, there's no way they'd tell us to get on the wrong plane, surely that can't happen".

I still think the blame rests with Servisair.

They just the wrong boarding pass, right? So when the announcement went out "All passengers flying to BODRUM please go to gate 2", they thought, "well, we're going to Arrecife, we're not going there. But hell, let's go to that gate anyway and see what happens"?

Morons.

Or it said flight BA367 is now boarding at gate 5, and they looked at their boarding pass which said BA367. Not the most intelligent thing ever, but still.

And this proves they got to the airport not knowing their flight number.

Which puts me firmly back on "Fucking morons".

Not really, not knowing your destination airport or flight number when flying a thousand miles needs a little stronger than "silly".

Not really, not knowing your destination airport or flight number when flying a thousand miles needs a little stronger than "silly".

I can believe not knowing your flight number - but then who needs to? It's printed on your ticket and then on your boarding pass, right?

Hmm. But the *one* thing you'd have to remember would be your destination, though, so you could CHECK IN IN THE FIRST PLACE.

At the check in desk - "We're going to Arrecife".

But, you don't though. You need to know which airline you're flying. All you have to know is the airline, and then you just hand over your ticket.

A small airline usually only has 1 desk.

"Good morning, thank-you for flying. What's your travel destination?"
"FORRIN!"
"I see... and, and which location is that please?"
"HOT!"

Oh to be as smart as you fucking lot, eh

I think you may be being a little harsh. Maybe they only fly once a year? It was early in the morning - I would imagine it's easy to get confused - difficult to decipher tannoy announcements, poorly trained uninterested staff. As DrG says, these airports aren't named after the resort you'll be staying in because they're usually about 60 miles away from where you'll be getting a tan.

I bet quite a few of you fucking geniuses in here would get lost on the New York Metro and that's just a fucking tube.

Yes, it was a silly mistake, but the bulk of the fuck up lies at the feet of the airline I reckon.

I bet quite a few of you fucking geniuses in here would get lost on the New York Metro and that's just a fucking tube.

A small airline usually only has 1 desk.

Which would be a good point if the ticket wouldn't have said where the plane was going.



Possibly. More likely I'd at least check the front of any fucking train I got on.

Of COURSE most of the fault is the airline, but the family could have prevented it by not being functionally retarded at any one of about 5 stages.

Which would be a good point if the ticket wouldn't have said where the plane was going.



Possibly. More likely I'd at least check the front of any fucking train I got on.

Of COURSE most of the fault is the airline, but the family could have prevented it by not being functionally retarded at any one of about 5 stages.

The London underground is easy so long (and this is crucial) you on first visit actually take one of the free maps.

Or use one of the many maps that are in things like diaries or phone books to plan your journey first.

The most stupid thing I've done wrt flying is turn up 24 hours early for my flight.

Thank God it wasn't 24 hours late!

Malc

The most stupid thing I've done wrt flying is turn up 24 hours early for my flight.

They just the wrong boarding pass, right? So when the announcement went out "All passengers flying to BODRUM please go to gate 2", they thought, "well, we're going to Arrecife, we're not going there. But hell, let's go to that gate anyway and see what happens"?

And they would be, if they didn't know they were going to Schiphol.