Nurse arrives at airport for dream family holiday to discover flight had been scrapped

Kelly Matthews, 35, had saved up thousands of pounds so she could take her nine-year-old son Noah and her mother Mandy to Disneyland at the end of May

A nurse who arrived at the airport for her dream family holiday discovered her flight had been scrapped.

Kelly Matthews, 35, from Saundersfoot in Pembrokeshire, worked tirelessly during the pandemic as an intensive care nurse at Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen.

She had planned a dream holiday to Disneyland with her family as a reward for the tough couple of years working on the Covid frontline, WalesOnline reported.

The nurse had saved up thousands of pounds so she could take her nine-year-old son Noah and her mother Mandy to Paris at the end of May.

However, he dream soon turned into a nightmare when they arrived at the airport dressed head to toe in Disney gear to find out her holiday was suddenly cancelled.

She said: “I checked the flight information on the app before we set off for Bristol Airport.

“When we got to the airport I then checked the app again. This time it said it had been cancelled, with no reason given. So it was cancelled in the time it took us to get from west Wales to Bristol, and just four hours before it was due to take off.

“We tried to get on another flight but they were all fully booked; we tried to see if we could get to Paris from a different airport but it just wasn’t possible.”

Kelly, who spent about £2,000 on the holiday in total, had organise the family stay in a hotel near the Disney resort between May 26 and May 29.

She has since heard that easyJet cancelled the flight at such short notice due to “crew issues” and they had no choice but to drive home gutted to west Wales.

To compound matters even worse, Disneyland itself will not refund her the cost of the tickets to the park because she did not cancel or reschedule within a 72-hour window.

And the Paris accommodation she booked will not refund any money because her and her family’s failure to arrive was not the hotel’s fault.

However, Kelly is hopeful that easyJet can at least reimburse her for the flight tickets, and that she can claw back some of the other costs from the ruined trip through her travel insurance.

She said: “I worked hard throughout the pandemic and my mum helped me so much with childcare – I just wanted to say thanks with this trip.

“And Noah was so excited. We were all head-to-toe in Disney stuff at the airport – we had the ears and the T-shirts on and everything! Now I’m fighting just to get my money back; whether I will or not I don’t know.”

Kelly and her family were able to enjoy a holiday of sorts as they managed to arrange a last-minute break at the popular Bluestone resort in Pembrokeshire.

She added: “We were looking forward to taking Noah to Disneyland so much,” said Kelly. “The worst thing is, nobody is taking any responsibility for it, and there was no help from easyJet at all.

“Even if they refund the flight, I want the holiday that I worked so hard for and it’s been taken away.”

EasyJet has been contacted for comment to comment on the reason behind the cancellation of the flight and to confirm if passengers will be fully refunded.

It has not yet responded.