MORE than 100 people due to travel from Jersey to London at the height of Storm Isha were delayed by four hours… and then found themselves diverted to Paris because they could not land at Gatwick.
High winds brought chaos to travellers across the British Isles, with multiple flights cancelled and ferry services disrupted.
In addition to the passengers who found themselves crossing the English Channel twice before landing in Paris – many of them without passports – 35 junior rugby players from Jersey RFC were stuck in London after return flights to the Island were cancelled on Sunday.
One Islander who was due to travel with easyJet on the Gatwick service said that the flight had eventually departed four hours late at around 11.30pm on Sunday, after around ten passengers had opted to disembark, leaving an estimated 130 on board.
The plane was then unable to land at Gatwick because of the worsening conditions, with Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris identified as the alternative option.
The passenger stated: “We landed in Paris around 2.30am their time, and the pilot said that we would be looked after when we got off, but there were no hotels available and some people weren’t even allowed through immigration because they didn’t have passports.”
As one of those who was able to leave the airport as he did have his passport, the traveller said he had tried five hotels before receiving notification from easyJet that he could fly to Gatwick at 11am and opting to return to the airport.
The players representing the Island’s under-13 and under-15 rugby teams, accompanied by three adult volunteers for each group, had set off for a day-trip on Sunday, playing matches against opponents in Sussex before heading back to Heathrow.
The younger age group had been due to fly at 4pm, eventually arriving home at 1.36pm Monday, while the older players, whose 7pm flight was cancelled, were due to reach the Island at 8.05pm.
Michelle Clark, chair of minis and juniors, said: “Last time that we had a group stuck they didn’t get home until Wednesday and we had no assistance with accommodation and lost a lot of money – but British Airways were helpful this time and got everyone into hotels.
“It’s a pity for children to have missed a day’s school, and we hope the employers of our adult volunteers will be understanding about their staff being unable to get to work.”
National media reports detailed numerous other flight cancellations and diversions.
These included Ryanair services from Tenerife and Seville which were bound for Edinburgh but ended up in Cologne, and an easyJet service from Edinburgh to Bristol that eventually landed in Paris.
Before the effects of Storm Isha had completely passed, the UK Met Office had “christened” Storm Jocelyn as the tenth named storm of the winter, with further strong winds and heavy rain forecast.
