Jet2 passengers left 'gobsmacked' as flight departs without them

Passengers at one of the UK’s busiest airports were left in disbelief when a Jet2 flight to Spain took off without them on board - leaving them waiting in the gate stairwell.

The Alicante-bound flight from Manchester Airport departed Monday morning (January 19), leaving dozens of passengers stranded in a stairwell awaiting boarding. Despite having their passports checked and boarding passes scanned by airline staff, the holidaymakers found themselves waiting for up to 40 minutes with no explanation.

They believed they were simply waiting for an airline employee to open the doors leading to the aircraft stairs or a shuttle bus. However, to their shock, the plane took off without them.

The group, consisting of at least 35 individuals, was later informed that there had been an 'error on the stairwell directions'. Jet2 has since apologised to the affected customers and stated that they are treating the incident as a 'matter of urgency'.

Matt, a Denton resident who was scheduled to travel on the LS879 flight to Alicante at 7am, expressed his astonishment over the incident. He claimed that Jet2 staff told him such an occurrence had 'never happened before'.

Matt recounted to the Manchester Evening News how he and his son had arrived punctually at the airport, passed through security, and reached the gate in good time when their flight was announced. Following the initial boarding call for passengers seated in the front section of the aircraft, Matt's seat number range was then called.

He explained: "So we've all come to the terminal and everybody's gone through from 26 to 40, then they called the rest of us. We've all gone through to the gate and boarded.

"But instead of carrying on onto the plane, there were some stairs so the herd mentality is that we all went down the stairs and followed each other. There was a lot of us.

"And then we're thinking 'why aren't these doors open'. We thought a bus would come for us and take us to the plane.

"We were there for 10 minutes, 20, 30, then we thought 'what's going on'. We were literally stuck like caged animals."

According to Matt, an airport employee subsequently approached from the tarmac to enquire about the situation, before allegedly informing the stranded passengers that the aircraft had already departed.

Matt revealed he was informed that staff don't conduct passenger counts once boarding is complete. "I am gobsmacked at the fact they don't do a headcount.

"That plane is at least 36 people light, it's bizarre. You'd think the captain would ask if they had a full flight."

Matt revealed that he and his fellow passengers were given a £10 voucher from Jet2 as they awaited information on the next available flight to Alicante. He also highlighted the presence of many elderly individuals, adding, "There's lots of elderly here as well".

He expressed his concern for his son who suffers from anxiety, saying, "I've got my son here who suffers from anxiety and I've brought him to take him away. It's like an episode of Fawlty Towers, you've never seen anything like it."

He further explained the confusion at the gate, stating, "They're saying now that there should have been the red rope to divert you onto the plane but that wasn't, so everyone just went down. It's unfathomable. I don't even think this has ever happened before."

In response, a spokesperson for Jet2 issued a statement: "We are aware that flight LS879 from Manchester to Alicante departed without some customers this morning, and we are investigating this as a matter of urgency with the airport. Our team are looking after these customers, and we have already arranged for them to take other flights to Alicante today."

The spokesperson concluded by expressing regret over the incident, saying, "We would of course like to apologise to these customers."