Andy and Katya Wedlake faced a stressful start to their honeymoon after easyJet overbooked their flight from Gatwick to Tivat, Montenegro, on July 26. The couple, who had just married, found they could not check in online hours before their scheduled 8:25 a.m. departure.
Upon arriving at Gatwick's North Terminal, they were informed by easyJet that more tickets had been sold than available seats on the flight. This practice of overbooking is common among airlines, though Ryanair and Jet2 state they do not oversell their flights.
The couple experienced a period of uncertainty as they were initially prevented from boarding. EasyJet then sought volunteers to give up their seats in exchange for compensation. When only one passenger volunteered, the Wedlakes were faced with a difficult choice.
According to Mr. Wedlake, the airline stated that either he or his wife would have to take the single available seat, or they would both forfeit their rights to rebooking and compensation, being classified as 'no-shows.' Consequently, Mrs. Wedlake boarded the flight alone, while Mr. Wedlake remained at Gatwick.
He had to return to London and spend the night separately from his new wife. The couple was eventually reunited and able to proceed with their honeymoon, but their arrival was delayed by approximately 21 hours.
An easyJet spokesperson stated that the airline followed its policy, which involves denying boarding to the last passengers to check in and then offering compensation to volunteers for later flights. The airline acknowledged that in this instance, an exception was not made to keep the couple together, and apologized for the disruption to their special trip. The spokesperson added that easyJet has since apologized to the Wedlakes, provided the compensation owed, and offered a gesture of goodwill.
Mr. Wedlake is entitled to £350 in compensation for being denied boarding. He expressed that this amount does not adequately cover the emotional distress, the sadness of separation from his wife, the loss of a full day of their honeymoon, or the wasted time. He also questioned the airline's decision not to anticipate a fully booked flight on a Sunday morning during peak summer travel.