Norwich couple kicked off Tui flight home after vape row

Lois Light and her partner Dexter were about to board a Tui plane to return to Gatwick Airport after their holiday in Lanzarote when they were told they had been banned from the flight.

But it was in fact two women sitting in front who had caused the commotion and Tui has since apologised for the case of mistaken identity.

"It ruined our holiday and has caused a huge amount of stress since," said 27-year-old Lois, from Norwich.

"It is shocking that a mistake like this can happen and Tui said there was nothing they could do to help and seemed to not believe us."

Lois Light and her partner Dexter were banned from flying back with Tui after they were wrongly accused of vaping during their flight to Lanzarote (Image: Lois Light)

The couple, neither of whom smoke or vape, were told two hours before they were due to fly home on Sunday, July 9 that they had been banned from the flight.

The pair scrambled to resolve the situation and protest their innocence but to no avail and were forced to find another flight home.

It left the holidaymakers having to fork out £500 in order to get an Easyjet flight back to the UK seven hours later.

After arriving back in Norwich, complaints to the holiday company also failed to resolve the situation, with Tui saying they stand by their decision due to the couple's behaviour - despite repeated explanations it wasn't them. 

Ms Light, who works as a nurse, added: "We tried saying there was a mix-up but everyone we have spoken to has said there is nothing they could do.

“You’d think they would be able to look at the CCTV on the plane or see we did not match the description from staff.

"I was even asleep at the time with headphones on so I didn't even know it had happened.”

The couple had to find another flight back to London Gatwick last minute (Image: PA)

The package holiday company has offered the couple compensation for the ordeal and has paid for the cost of their travel.

A spokesman said: “We are sincerely sorry for the ordeal they experienced on their journey home from Lanzarote.

“Unfortunately, a human error meant that the couple were falsely identified as disruptive passengers following their flight.

“We have since apologised to the couple and offered them compensation and have paid for the travel costs as well as offering them a goodwill gesture.

“Instances like this are extremely rare, and we take security matters very seriously.

“We can only continue to apologise for this error, and we hope that the couple were still able to enjoy their holiday before this unfortunate mix up.”

Tui has apologised for the mishap and offered compensation to the couple (Image: Newsquest)

Tui, which operates flights from Norwich Airport, has repeatedly come under fire in recent years due to complaints of poor customer service.

In June, tensions flared as a flight mix-up left passengers stranded in Mallorca for 12 hours.

The frustrated holidaymakers were given no information as to what was going on, with some believing Alba Star, which was operating the flight on behalf of Tui, had forgotten about them.

In another mishap, passengers were left bemused after a Tui flight home from Greece to Norwich arrived 150 miles away from the city in Birmingham, requiring a long taxi ride home instead.

The ordeal has meant the couple may think twice before going on another holiday with the company.

Ms Light added: "We have used Tui many times before and never had a problem.

"You hear all these horror stories from other customers so I suppose something was going to happen at some point but this is just ridiculous.”