TUI pilot turns plane around to pick up a small girl at Tenerife airport

A family who almost missed their flight home from Tenerife have praised a pilot for turning the plane back to the gate to pick up their daughter who lost her passport. Adrian Insley said his dream holiday almost turned into a nightmare after his daughter lost her passport at the airport on Friday.

The 38-year-old and his partner, their four children, and Adrian's parents were due to get a TUI plane to East Midlands Airport on Friday night. However, the family made a stop at the airport's Duty-Free shop and then proceeded to the security check.

"I am very organised with my passport, I even have a bag for them", he said. "But this time my partner said she needed her passport to get something from Duty Free, and then she put it in the bag.

"Our flight was delayed and the airport was very busy because there were three flights to the UK around the same time". Because he was travelling with his children, they had to go through the security check manually, but when he lined up for the security checks, he realised the Duty-Free bag was nowhere to be found. "I started to panic because I didn’t know where it was. And then the realisation set in. We were one passport short.”

"I went and spoke to the security personnel and they told me that I couldn’t board without a passport, so I had to send all my family through, and me and my daughter stayed behind because her passport was missing.”

The distressed dad and his seven-year-old daughter were left behind watching the rest of the family going through the gate. "My children were crying, my partner was crying, and the reps on the other planes asked all their passengers to check their bags."

In an unexpected turn of events, the daughter's missing passport was eventually found, however, he was told it was too late for them to go on the scheduled flight as their plane already left the gate. "I was just happy to get the passport back at least, but that's when the situation got more interesting."

Meanwhile, Adrian's mum Sharon, who had boarded a plane with the rest of the family, added: "I was impressed with the staff, who were so caring and tried to calm down the grandchildren who were crying. They said that Adrian could get on the next flight to Manchester if there is space, they were just so kind and understanding. At this point we were ready to take off, it was right before the runway.”

"However, they had spoken to the captain, and then the steward asked if we could tell Adrian to come to the gate, so we could go back and pick him up. I was gobsmacked because I have never ever in all my time flying, ever known that they can come back for you. It was amazing, just incredible.”

"I have actually tried to thank TUI, but they have only got a portal for complaints. When all you hear about the travel industry is doom and gloom, we just wanted to share some exceptional customer service our family encountered over the bank holiday weekend. Thankyou TUI."