Holidaymaker claims Tui ‘refused’ to give her disabled mother, 49, water on nine-hour flight to the Dominican Republic ‘because of the risk of spreading Covid’
- Ellie Fisher was surprised by Natalie Williams with trip to the Dominican Republic
- The pair, 23 and 49, said their journey with TUI was ruined by the Covid protocol
- Tui told passengers shortly after take-off they would only be serving drinks once
- Natalie takes regular medication but when she asked for water ‘she was refused’
A woman has claimed her disabled mother could not take vital medication on a nine-hour flight because staff refused to serve water due to Covid.
Ellie Fisher, 23, was surprised by Natalie Williams, 49, with a once-in-a-lifetime holiday to the Dominican Republic.
The pair said their journey with TUI was ruined when they heard about the airline’s strict coronavirus protocol half an hour into the flight.
Due to the pandemic, Tui apparently informed all passengers shortly after take-off that they would only be serving drinks once.
Passengers were offered a cup of water or juice with the scheduled meal but apart from that no other drinks were to be served, Ellie claimed.
And she alleged there was no pre-warning of the strict water rule on Tui’s website or anywhere else during the booking process.
Ellie Fisher, 23, was surprised by her mum Natalie Williams, 49, with a once-in-a-lifetime holiday to the Dominican Republic
The pair said their journey with TUI was ruined when they heard about the airline’s strict coronavirus protocol half an hour into the flight
Natalie has to take regular medication on a daily basis. But she claims when she requested a small cup to take her pills, staff refused.
Ellie, from Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, said: ‘We were really excited when we got to the airport to finally be going away after all the restrictions of the pandemic.
‘But when we got on board the flight, they told us they weren’t serving drinks outside of the scheduled meal time because of the risk of spreading Covid.
‘No one had told us this before, so we didn’t think to grab any water at the airport after we went through security.
‘Mum has to take medication regularly so this obviously was stressful to hear, but never in a million years did I think it would turn in to such a big problem.
‘When we asked politely for a small cup of water for her to swallow her meds, we were rudely told no and that we’d have to wait till we landed.
‘It was a nine hour flight and it made my mum extremely anxious and uncomfortable. The way staff acted was inhumane – how they wouldn’t make an exception to the rule under such circumstances I don’t know. The consequences could have been dire.’
Natalie has to take regular medication on a daily basis. But she claims when she requested a small cup to take her pills, staff refused
Ellie, from Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, said: ‘We were really excited when we got to the airport to finally be going away after all the restrictions of the pandemic
Natalie and Ellie said they went the entire flight having only had one drink with their meal and arrived at their destination thirsty and extremely irritated, on January 11.
When they returned to the UK a week later, the rules were still in place, but this time they went with a bottle of water each.
Information on Tui’s website states when meals are served on long-haul flights, customers will get a water cuplet on the tray – and water is served in between meals.
A spokesman from Tui Airlines said: ‘We’re very sorry to hear of Ms Williams experience on her flight to the Dominican Republic.
‘We’re investigating this further with our airline and will be in touch her as soon as possible to resolve this matter.’
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