Author Anthony Horowitz, 64, brands British Airways ‘cold blooded and criminally incompetent’ after delayed plane leaves him ‘stranded’ in Essex 35 miles from where he was supposed to land
- Award-winning fiction writer was supposed to fly from Geneva to London City
- But the flight was delayed, meaning London City had closed and flight changed
- It was diverted to Southend, 35 miles away, and Horowitz took to Twitter
Anthony Horowitz has branded British Airways ‘cold blooded and criminally incompetent’ after a flight bungle left him stranded late at night in Essex.
The award-winning teenage fiction writer was supposed to fly from Geneva to London City yesterday.
But the flight was delayed, meaning London City had closed and the flight had to be diverted to Southend, 35 miles away.
The 64-year-old author and his fellow passengers were told coaches and trains would be available to get them to London City Airport.
Horowitz in a 2018 selfie taken in Marseille. The award-winning teenage fiction writer was supposed to fly from Geneva to London City yesterday
Horowitz claims this was a ‘lie’ by BA and that when they arrived at Southend – with midnight approaching – there were no coaches or trains running. He later said he got home at 1.30 am.
The exasperated writer of the Alex Rider series says he and other passengers, including those with young children, had to make their own arrangements to get home.
He wrote on social media: ‘British Airways were meant to fly me from Geneva Airport to London City.
‘They were late. The airport was closed. So they flew us to Southend.’
He added: ‘They promised ground support and coaches to take us to City Airport. Not much help as the airport would be closed and empty. No taxis. But still…
‘They lied. There was no help at the airport and no coaches. No trains either. I caught the last replacement train bus to Victoria. It’s midnight. I’m on it now.
The author’s flight was delayed, meaning London City had closed and the flight had to be diverted to Southend, 35 miles away
‘The driver laughed. ‘This happened three times last week. There were never any BA coaches. Or they left without waiting’.’
Horowitz then posed a question: ‘How can a business get away with such a dereliction of duty or care? Mothers and small children thrown into the chaos of Southend.
‘And if it keeps happening shouldn’t they warn passengers and have some sort of alternative arrangement in place? They are cold-blooded and criminally incompetent.
‘And £50 compensation is way off the mark. Unusual for me to tweet like this. But it stinks.’
Several people offered their sympathy to the author, and spoke of similar experiences. One person wrote under Anthony’s post saying: ‘I’m sorry to hear this and I hope you’re home soon.
The exasperated writer of the Alex Rider series says he and other passengers, including those with young children, had to make their own arrangements to get home from Southend
‘I haven’t flown BA since they cancelled my flight, while I was at the gate, and there wasn’t a single member of staff to help. I called them up and they told me to catch an alternative flight that had already taken off.’
‘I’m so sorry, I hope you’re safe home now. This is absolutely outrageous,’ added another person.
A third person commented: ‘This is awful. As a one off it’s pretty bad, but this sounds like a regular occurrence. Terrible way to treat people. Hope you are back safe now.’
A member of British Airways customer service team responded to Anthony on Twitter telling him to DM them so they can look into it and try and help.
Mail Online has contacted BA for comment.