Operators blame each other for flight change blunder
Thomas Cook and Thomson have blamed each other after a couple had their holiday cut short without warning.
The travel firms apologised and offered compensation after Michael Haye, 69, and his 63-year-old wife, June, from Hampshire, arrived at the Sentido Punta del Mar in Majorca to be told their 11-day holiday had been changed to seven days.
They booked the Thomas Cook holiday through a Thomson travel agent but neither company told them the date of their return flight had changed.
Despite blaming each other for the miscommunication, Thomas Cook agreed to reimburse the couple £248 for the hotel and give them £400 in compensation, reports the Portsmouth News while Thomson offered an additional £170 in compensation.
A Thomas Cook spokesperson said the holiday was reduced to seven days due to a change to its flight programme.
But Thomson said its staff were not told of the change to the couple’s flights.
A spokesman said: "Thomson acted solely as a third party booking agent on this occasion and the change in duration of the holiday was out of our control.
"Unfortunately, whilst an update was received by the reservation system, no alert or communication was sent to advise our staff of the change.
"In the absence of any notification and as no updated tickets were provided to us, our staff did not have any details to advise the customer of.
"As soon we were aware of the situation, we provided Mr Haye with a refund for the days he did not spend in Majorca."
A Thomas Cook spokesman told the Daily Mail: "The few customers affected by this change should have been advised of this in advance of travel either directly by ourselves or through our travel agency partners, with all refunded the difference in price.
"Although our records show that our colleagues in the Thomson store were advised, Mr and Mrs Haye were unfortunately not informed prior to their departure.
"We would like to assure the Haye family, and indeed all our customers, that we are collaborating with our partners to establish the reasons behind this miscommunication, with a view to ensuring that this remains an isolated incident."
Diane
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Major rail disruptions around and in Berlin until early 2026