Loganair bosses have apologised to Dundee-bound passengers left feeling stranded in Edinburgh airport.
The airline changed the destination for London flight LM626 from Dundee to Edinburgh airport and did not let passengers know they had arranged onward travel.
Broughty Ferry IT consultant Steve Davidson was on the flight. He said around 50 passengers ended up in Edinburgh airport with no idea how they would get home.
“It was a frankly unacceptable situation,” he said.
The flight was due to depart at 19:15 on October 24 and passengers received a text at 15:56 the same day saying that the flight would be delayed.
They then received a second text to let them know about the new destination.
‘No concrete information’ from Loganair on flight from London
“We were frustrated but these things happen and we settled down for a long wait,” he explained.
“When the flight eventually took off at 21:50, there was still no concrete information from the airline as to our mode of transport.”
It was close to midnight when the group arrived in Edinburgh. Around 50 passengers from the flight went to the desk where the airline had told them to meet, he added.
“There was no-one there from LoganAir and no transport.
“There was however an independent AirBus leaving at midnight so everyone on the flight jumped on that bus.
“Just as well the AirBus was available or there would be 50 or so passengers sleeping in Edinburgh airport.”
Loganair is the UK’s largest regional airline, linking Dundee to London and Belfast.
Steve said he decided to highlight the issue to ensure “it won’t happen again”.
He also wanted bosses at the airline to “acknowledge the inconvenience they have put us through”.
Loganair “need to do better otherwise they will lose my business,” he added.
‘Sincere apologies’
A spokesperson for Loganair said: “We can confirm that flight LM626 was rerouted on the evening of October 24 from Dundee to Edinburgh following air traffic control restrictions. This change also incurred a delay.
“Light refreshment vouchers were issued to passengers to access hospitality and Loganair secured a coach to transfer passengers from Edinburgh to Dundee.
“We offer sincere apologies to our customers as we recognise there was a communication breakdown with our third-party handling company resulting in a small number of customers conducting their own onward travel.
“Compensation claims will be progressed in line with regulatory requirements.”
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