More than £1,000 in compensation has been awarded to a couple after they missed their easyJet flight because the airline only had three people working on its bag drop counter.
Niall and Aileen Caldwell, from Edinburgh, arrived at the airport in Sicily two hours before their flight to Gatwick for their return journey last September.
But large queues at the check-in and bag drop desk and further delays at security and passport control led to them missing their flight, despite pleas to be prioritised as the minutes passed by.
Caldwell asked three times for passengers leaving on earlier flights to be prioritised but was refused.
After missing their flight, easyJet told the pair that there was not another departure for two days and they would have to pay for it themselves.
Caldwell launched legal action against easyJet on his return to Scotland and a sheriff has now found in his favour and ordered the airline to pay him £1,042.90 in compensation, the Daily Mail reported.
Caldwell represented himself at a hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month.
He told how he and his wife were forced to pay almost £900 to return home with British Airways, more than double the cost of the flight they missed.
They had arrived at the airport just as easyJet’s check-in desk opened and were not given prior notice of expected delays.
In court, easyJet denied liability and said it was the responsibility of passengers to reach the departure gate in time for their flight.
In a written judgment, Sheriff Tom Welsh QC blamed easyJet’s “operational inadequacies” for the delays experienced by the Caldwells.
He said: “In my opinion, provided the passenger presents for check-in on time for a confirmed reserved seat and is not at fault, he is entitled to compensation if denied boarding and the responsibility for taking reasonable steps to facilitate passage through the carrier’s own bag-drop queues and airport security queues, rests with the carrier.
“To hold otherwise would mean that bona fide and blameless travellers like the Caldwells, who were thrice denied help and assistance by the carrier, would necessarily be deprived of the high level of protection provided to them.
“I am satisfied as a matter of fact that the passengers did nothing which had the character of fault about it.
“They did not dilly dally on the way to the departure gate. They did not divert to a restaurant or bar to have refreshments. They were not legitimately detained at security for additional searches.
“I am satisfied the facts proved can properly be characterised as denied boarding because of the operational inadequacies of easyJet ground staff’s management of the EasyJet queues on 14 September 2014 and their failure to facilitate passage through security check, customs and passport control when asked, in circumstances, where it was obvious the passengers were in danger of missing their flight.”
An easyJet spokeswoman said: “We are aware of the ruling and are currently reviewing it. As such we cannot comment further at this stage.”