A group of 20 retired lawn bowlers found themselves in a frustrating situation after their flight home from the Algarve was unexpectedly cancelled, leaving them stranded abroad. The bowlers had booked their holiday through the specialist travel company Bowling Abroad, but their return trip with budget airline easyJet was disrupted, sparking a battle to recoup their expenses.
The group, who hail from various parts of the UK, had travelled to Portugal in the spring for a bowling tournament and week-long stay. However, their plans to return home were thrown into disarray when easyJet abruptly cancelled their flight, citing operational reasons.
“We were all ready to come home after a wonderful week away, and then we got the news that our flight had been cancelled,” said Edith Wilkins, 72, from Nottingham. “It was a real disappointment, and then the headache of trying to sort out alternative travel arrangements began.”
The bowlers were forced to book last-minute replacement flights at their own expense, costing them hundreds of pounds. They also incurred additional costs for extended hotel stays and meals. In total, the group estimates they spent over £10,000 due to the disruption.
Attempts to recoup these expenses from easyJet have so far been unsuccessful. “We’ve been trying to get the money back from easyJet, but they keep refusing our claims,” said Wilkins. “They say the cancellation was due to circumstances beyond their control, but that doesn’t seem fair when we’ve been left out of pocket through no fault of our own.”
Bowling Abroad, the travel company that organised the holiday, has expressed sympathy for the group’s plight. “We did everything we could to assist the bowlers and help them get home as smoothly as possible,” said company spokesperson Olivia Chambers. “Unfortunately, the airline’s decision to cancel the flight was out of our control, and we’ve been supporting the group in their efforts to seek compensation from easyJet.”
The retired bowlers remain hopeful that easyJet will ultimately take responsibility for the disruption and reimburse them for their additional costs. “We’re a group of pensioners on fixed incomes, and this has been a real financial burden for us,” said Wilkins. “We just want to be treated fairly and get the money back that we’ve had to spend through no fault of our own.”
