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04th Jun 2021

Irish woman wakes up on flight going completely in the wrong direction

Ellen Fitzpatrick

travel restrictions

The woman slept through the wrong flight.

An Irish woman got the shock of her life when she woke up aboard a flight that was going in the complete opposite direction she had planned.

Gemma Cargin from Co. Down told BBC NI that she had planned to board an easyJet flight to Belfast, but ended up a little further south in Gibraltar.

Heading from Manchester to the North, she explained that her boarding pass had been scanned at the gate and she boarded the plane like normal, with nothing said about the destination.

It wasn’t until she woke up from a nap to find herself 1,276 miles away in the complete other direction.

She told BBC NI: “I woke up from my nap and I looked at the time, and I just asked ‘When are we landing, are we landing soon?'”

It was then they told her that the flight was landing in Gibraltar in 15 minutes, and the realisation that Gemma had gotten on the wrong flight.

EasyJet has issued an apology to Gemma, with a spokesperson saying that they are investigating how this could have happened.

They said: “easyJet works closely with all of our airports to ensure the safety of all passengers.

“We are investigating with the airport and our ground handling partner at Manchester how Miss Cargin was able travel on the wrong flight.”

“As soon as the mistake was realised, it was arranged for them to fly back to Manchester and on to Belfast, their original intended destination.

“Miss Cargin was looked after by our team throughout and provided with refreshments.

“We would like to sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

Gemma was allowed to leave the plane for air and then brought back to Manchester on the same plane and on to Belfast, avoiding a two-week quarantine when arriving in the UK as she never left the vicinity of the airline.

And with a selfie to prove she landed in Spain, she’s happy to have a good story out of the experience.