Family Says They Were Forced To Sit On The Floor During Flight

Source: picture alliance / Getty

Family Says They Were Forced To Sit On Floor During Flight

There are a few things we all expect when it comes to purchasing an airline ticket–but this family didn’t exactly get the seats they were hoping for when they bought theirs. A family is now alleging that they spent $1,675 for three seats on a flight from the island of Menorca, Spain, back to their home in Birmingham, England, but that they were forced to sit on the floor for most of the TUI flight.

Paula Taylor, who was traveling with both her husband and 10-year-old daughter after their vacation back in June, purchased seats 41 D, E and F for the flight. Everything seemed normal until, according to reports from the BBC, there were no seats when they reached their row. “We all just looked at each other as if to say, ‘Where’s our seats gone?’” Taylor told the news outlet.

The woman continued on to say that there was only one empty seat on the flight, which was given to their young daughter, while she and her husband were placed in flip-up seats in the crew section of the plane. Then, once the flight began and the attendants needed items behind the seats, the couple were redirected to sit on the floor.

The family was allegedly only offered $39 from the airline for the major inconvenience. It wasn’t until Taylor contacted Rip Off Britain–a show that helps consumers in situations just like this–that TUI refunded the couple’s entire airfare.

The airline reportedly told the BBC that a “last-minute aircraft change” resulted in the missing seats. According to the publication, the Civil Aviation Authority says passengers may sit in crew seats under certain conditions, but they are not to be left unseated at any stage during the flight.