On Sunday 1 July 2018 passengers on a Thomas Cook Airlines flight (operated by SmartLynx) from Zakynthos to London Stansted had to wait inside the Airbus A321 (YL-LCQ) for three hours without any form of air conditioning while the outside temperature rose to around 30 degrees.
Passenger Kerry Louise Shippey was on board the flight and she tweeted that passengers were passing out and throwing up as the temperature of the aircraft rose to 40 degrees. Liv Sanders, another passenger said that no water or food was provided.
@TCAirlinesUK @ThomasCookUK nobody minds a delay, things happen, but keeping people in a tin can in 40 degree heat so that people are passing out and throwing up is taking things a little far don’t you think ???
— Kerry Louise Shippey (@hairwench) July 1, 2018
@ThomasCookUK @ThomasCookCares how can they allow us to be stuck on the plane for an hour and a half in crazy heat with no air con?? Ridiculous pic.twitter.com/q7xOHInRum
— liv (@LivSanders_x) July 1, 2018
A Thomas Cook Airlines spokesperson told The Independent: “Flight MT1805 from Zakynthos to Stansted was delayed due to a technical issue with the on board air conditioning. We tried to fix the issue so that we could get customers on their way as soon as possible, but we recognise that we should have disembarked the aircraft earlier. We are very sorry for the discomfort our customers experienced.”
The flight eventually left for London Stansted the next day.
