When a young couple from the United Kingdom boarded a plane to Greece, they were already visualizing their first foreign vacation together: a five-star hotel, crystal-clear waters and cloudless blue skies.
They had planned for an entire week under the hot Greek sun, but instead stayed for only a half an hour… in the airport.
The reason why? Lost passports.
When they took their seats on the flight, 27-year-olds Lewis Mundy and Kimberley Floyd both placed their passports in the magazine pocket in front of them; however, after de-boarding, they quickly realized they had forgotten to take their documents.
Authorities subsequently denied the couple entry into Greece and within 30 minutes sent them on a return flight to the UK.
As a result, they ended up not only missing a vacation, but also wasting the £1,400 (about $1850) they had spent to book it.
The pair had planned to visit the Aegean island of Kos while staying in the five-star Atki Hotel.
They flew in June with the UK-based TUI Airways, whose employees told them they could not re-board the plane to look for their passports merely minutes after stepping off.
TUI staff searched for the documents, but despite the couple’s pleas and detailed instructions where to locate them, airline officials said they still could not find them.
Consequently, what was supposed to be the couple’s week in paradise soon turned into a nightmare scenario, as they were told they would have to take the next four-hour return flight back home.
They promptly contacted TUI to recover their losses, but the company has neither found their passports nor offered them compensation.
A spokesperson for the airline issued the following statement:
“We’re sorry to hear of Mr. Mundy and Ms. Floyd’s very rare experience on their flight to Greece. As a result of not having their passports, they were not allowed into the country and were flown back to the UK. After searching the aircraft thoroughly, we can confirm their passports were not found.
The spokesperson then added:
“We would like to remind customers, as we generally do before they leave the aircraft, to ensure they have all their personal possessions with them and to take responsibility of their personal items at all times.”
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