This is why I always use a travel agent

I don’t usually write about my own personal travel in this column, but I hope you’ll indulge me.

Last Thursday, I was due to fly with two friends to Lisbon to meet another to celebrate a 50th birthday. We arrived at Gatwick early, passed seamlessly through security, and enjoyed a slap-up lunch.

Suddenly, just an hour before departure, we received an email to say our easyJet flight had been cancelled, presumably due to the air traffic control strike in France. We were told to go to the gate regardless, where we were given a leaflet about how to rebook or claim a refund, then sent back through passport control into arrivals.

With our other friend already en route from Brussels, we really needed to get to Lisbon – but the later easyJet flight was full, as was the one leaving the next morning. I called Fred Olsen Travel in Tonbridge, where we’d booked the city break, and Pauline and the team swung into action. They immediately contacted Tina at our operator, Jetset, who managed to get us seats on a Ryanair flight from Stansted on Friday morning, and they also booked new flights back to Gatwick, where our car was, because the return easyJet flight had also been cancelled.

I called the hotel in Lisbon to let them know the situation. “Your agent has already rung to inform us,” said the receptionist, “and changed all your transfers.”

Pauline also called me to tell me to keep all my receipts and offered to help make our claim.

Thank you so much, Pauline and Fred Olsen Travel. Your swift actions totally saved the day!

This is exactly why you should always book with a travel agent.

Comment from Travel Weekly, July 10 edition