Lois Light and her partner Dexter were left shocked at the false accusations from Tui (Picture: Lois Light/SWNS)
A young couple who have never smoked or vaped in their lives were banned from a flight after being accused of vaping.
Lois Light, 27, and her partner Dexter, from Norwich, Norfolk, were on a Tui flight to Lanzarote from Gatwick when two other passengers were caught vaping.
The couple enjoyed their week-long holiday in the sun and were due to fly back with the airline on July 9.
But to their horror they were told by their Tui rep two hours before their flight home they were banned from it because they were accused of vaping on the outward flight.
The couple said it was a case of mistaken identity because the two other passengers who did vape were both female.
They were forced to spend another £500 on a new flight with easyJet, as well as on transfers and luggage.
Lois, who works as a nurse, said: ‘It ruined our holiday and has caused a huge amount of stress since.
‘It is shocking that a mistake like this can happen and Tui said there was nothing they could do to help and seemed to not believe us.’
The couple tried to complain to Tui when they returned home but the holiday company said it stood by its decision.
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The young couple enjoyed a lovely week in the sun before a nightmare journey home (Picture: Lois Light/SWNS)
‘We tried saying there was a mix-up but initially, everyone we spoke to said there was nothing they could do,’ Lois continued.
‘You’d think they would be able to look at the CCTV on the plane or see we did not match the description from staff.
‘I was even asleep at the time with headphones on so I didn’t even know it had happened.’
Lois only got an apology from Tui when she posted about the ordeal on Facebook.
Tui has since accepted liability, offered the couple compensation for the ordeal and has paid for the cost of their travel.
Lois is not happy with Tui’s apology and expects more (Picture: Lois Light/SWNS)
But Lois now wants more from the holiday company and said: ‘They’ve paid our expenses and offered £500 compensation each – but that’s not enough.
‘It’s not like the air con was broken in our hotel, or the food made us ill – they’ve wrongly accused us of something which is a horrible feeling.
‘The whole experience was extremely upsetting.’
A Tui spokesperson, said: ‘We are sincerely sorry for the ordeal they experienced on their journey home from Lanzarote.
‘Unfortunately, a human error meant that the couple were falsely identified as disruptive passengers following their flight.
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‘We have since apologised to the couple and offered them compensation and have paid for the travel costs as well as offering them a goodwill gesture.
‘Instances like this are extremely rare, and we take security matters very seriously.
‘We can only continue to apologise for this error, and we hope that the couple were still able to enjoy their holiday before this unfortunate mix up.’
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‘It ruined our holiday and has caused a huge amount of stress since.’