Bad weather in Britain has trapped 30 Norwegians on tropical Phuket for days, leaving them stranded with little to do, and destined to take the long way home.
Snow fell heavily on Manchester, which meant Thomas Cook was forced to send a smaller aircraft to collect 300 charter passengers.
Some passengers were told on the way to the airport that they would not actually be catching the flight, because there was no room.
Instead, according to those left behind, the 30 were driven to what was described as ”a miserable hotel in the middle of Phuket Town.”
No new flights are coming, and so the Norwegians, stuck since Tuesday, have to be squeezed onto existing charter planes, where seats are available.
”There are no facilities, no beach and nothing to do.This is very tragic,” stranded passenger Mona Gulliksen told Norwegian media outlet tv2nyhetene.no
Twelve of the stranded passengers managed to get away on Thursday, on a flight to Malmo, in Sweden, then they will catch a bus to Copenhagen, then a flight home to Oslo.
Children in the group are missing their education while Mona Gulliksen, who runs a driving school, says that people who have booked for lessons are turning up and waiting in minus 20 degree weather.
Some in the overstay group hope to fly on Saturday, which means they will be home on Sunday or Monday . . . almost a week late.
A company spokesman said the situation was regrettable but there were no seats available on regular flights out of Bangkok. All living costs, including taxis around town, were being met.
”It is expensive for us to have stranded tourists, too,” the spokesman told tv2nyhetene.no
