‘Disappointed’ Derbyshire parents speak up after travel company cancels school trip at the last minute

Heanor Gate Spencer Academy was notified of the cancellation of a trip to Valencia by Halsbury Travel Company on Thursday, July 13 – a few days before the trip was meant to go ahead. The travel agent said that this was due to a flight cancellation by Ryanair.

The airline told Derbyshire Times that they notified Halsbury Travel of the cancellation in May, which would give them enough time to find an alternative flight.

After Derbyshire Times ran an article last week, parents affected have spoken up on Facebook.

Robert Ratner-Nunn said: “Was such a disappointment for our son. The teachers did everything they could to sort something. Communication from the school has been excellent and they handled this situation professionally."

Janet Sas commented: “Appalling, feel sorry for the students.”

Michaela Phillips added: “My son was going on this trip. Yes, he was really looking forward to it, and yes he was very disappointed he couldn't go. We were informed of the cancellation on Friday morning after it had been cancelled by the travel company the night before.

"All avenues for alternative travel were explored, but it was too late to accommodate the large party either as a whole, or split up into smaller groups. We were told it was due to Ryanair cancelling the flight because of air traffic control issues in Europe. There has been no indication that it was cancelled months ago.

"The travel company published the insensitive tweet, which was commented on by Mr Jones. Sometimes, children only get an opportunity to travel with school, so you have to think of the impact for the individual.”

Kyla Williams added: “Bet the children are devastated, poor kids.”

Shell Bax-ter said: “Depending what area this school is, for a lot of children these trips are once in a lifetime, as their families won’t be able to afford a holiday abroad usually. I’ve worked in a school where we took the kids on a residential to the Peak District. Many took part in activities or experiences they’ve never done before, and based on their family circumstances may never do again. So yes, a trip to Spain, or just Derbyshire could be a ‘once in a life time’ trip for many.”

When contacted by the Derbyshire Times, a spokesperson for Halsbury Travel said it was ‘entirely due to circumstances beyond their control.’

They added: “We were notified by Ryanair on Thursday (July 13) that the outbound flight to Valencia was cancelled due to ongoing air traffic control strikes.

“Ryanair were unable to offer alternative flights and our team worked tirelessly to find options with other airlines, but due to the late notice and size of the group it sadly wasn’t possible to source a solution that enabled everyone to travel together.

“We contacted the school on Thursday (July 13) to inform them of the flight cancellation and offer an alternative which would have allowed the group to travel on two separate flights. For safeguarding reasons, the school had to make the difficult decision to cancel the tour.

“We are in the process of seeking compensation from Ryanair on the group’s behalf, as requested by the school.”

A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “This flight from East Midlands to Alicante was cancelled on 19 May for commercial reasons. Passengers were notified and advised of their options, which were either a refund or free change of flight.

“These passengers requested a refund for this flight from East Midlands to Alicante (17 July) on 13 July and Ryanair processed the refund in full (£11,946.78) to the card on the booking on 14 July.”