Edinburgh flights: Polish scouts stranded at Edinburgh Airport after Wizz Air cancels flight

One mother said she was concerned about her daughter's lack of sleep

A group of young scouts have been left stranded at Edinburgh Airport overnight after their flight was cancelled hours after it was due to leave.

The group of 17 Polish scouts, who are all aged between 10 and 15, and their leaders were due to fly to Gdansk in Poland at 9.40pm on Sunday for a 12-day holiday camp. They are due to return to Edinburgh on July 14. But despite being boarded on to their Wizz Air flight on Sunday evening, passengers were then forced to wait on the tarmac for five hours before they were asked to leave the plane and return to the terminal.

One Livingston mother, Ilona, whose 13-year-old daughter is on the scout trip, said: “Wizz Air told them to go back to the airport but again they had no information about what would happen. At 5am, they were told they could go to a hotel but 15 minutes later they were told that they can’t because no hotel has space for them.”

Passengers, including a group of 17 scouts, were stranded at the airport without offer of food or water

The group were then told that a flight would leave for Gdansk at 1pm on Monday, July 3, but as of 4.15pm, the group were still stuck in Edinburgh Airport awaiting news.

"It just kept getting pushed back every half hour,” said Ilona. “So they’ve been there almost 24 hours now. They’re all fine but they’re very tired because they’ve been there since yesterday and can't get any answers. There’s also a worry that the camp they’re due to go to might get impatient and not let them in. They were meant to arrive yesterday so it’s quite a while since the booking.”

Ilona added that, during their time at the airport, passengers had not been offered water or food by Wizz Air. “They haven’t offered anything,” she said. “So they’re all just sitting there waiting.”

A Wizz Air spokesperson said: “Due to an aircraft fault, we unfortunately had to reschedule a flight from Edinburgh to Gdansk on 2nd July. This flight was rescheduled to 4.15pm the following day (yesterday, 3rd July). While we try to find accommodation wherever possible for passengers whose flight has been cancelled or rescheduled, they can also make alternative arrangements themselves and we will reimburse them up to a reasonable amount. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.”