Gran lands 680 miles from grandson’s wedding after boarding the wrong flight

An 89-year-old grandma was left 680 miles from her family after boarding the wrong flight – and had to pay more than £900 to make it back.

Joe Winter had traveled to Slovenia with her daughter Hayley Vickery, 58, for her grandson Aaron’s wedding.

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After arriving at Luton Airport on April 9, the pair flew to Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, for their Wizz Air flight.

Although they boarded the flight well, it was only after landing that they realized they were in Poland – 680 miles away – after the crew asked if they had been to the country before, after showing them their passports at the landing gate had shown.

That’s what her daughter Hayley said mirror that everyone was “beside himself”, which meant a lot of stress for the family.

She added: “My mother was awful [and] didn’t have her meds.”

After waiting three and a half hours at the airport with no help from staff, they were told over the Wizz Air phone line that they had to book a hotel in Poland or return to Luton Airport, meaning they would miss the wedding.

The couple had to spend the night in Poznan before paying £270 for a Tazi to Warsaw and then a £700 flight to Ljubljana.

Luckily they were reunited with their luggage when they finally arrived Slovenia but Hayley said she wanted the airline to apologize and issue a full refund.

She said: “In a really volatile Europe, we were put on a plane to Poland and no one knew where we were.

“I want Wizz Air to apologize and explain what happened and a full refund.”

A spokesman for Wizz Air told Sun Online Travel: “We are very sorry that these passengers, who should have arrived in Ljubljana as booked, were disrupted and we did everything we could at the time to ensure that they – in the end – make it to the wedding.

“Together with London Luton Airport and our ground handlers we are urgently investigating the sequence of events that led up to this incident to ensure it never happens again.

“When the affected passengers arrived in Poznan, Wizz Air made efforts to help them by offering hotel accommodation and alternative transportation options, but the passengers chose to make their own arrangements for onward travel to Ljubljana.

“We can confirm that her luggage was urgently processed and arrived the next day on the next flight to Ljubljana. Wizz Air will reimburse these passengers for any costs incurred and have offered a credit to Wizz Air as part of our sincere apologies for the inconvenience and disruption caused.”

It’s not the first time a passenger has ended up in the wrong country after boarding the wrong flight.

Two passengers hit Ryanair after it boarded the wrong plane to Spainalthough the airline said it was their own fault.

Another pair boarded the wrong Ryanair plane and ended up 800 miles away and had no idea until they landed.

And in 2021, a couple who booked a Ryanair flight to Spain were stunned after they landed 1,200 miles away in Greece.

In 2018, a man landed on the wrong side of the arctic 1,400 miles in the opposite direction after boarding a flight.

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