EasyJet 'leaves veteran with terminal cancer to sleep on airport floor' after cancelling his flight

A terminally ill Royal Navy veteran was left with no choice but to spend the night on the floor of Gatwick Airport after easyJet cancelled his flight.

Wayne Lawson, 63, was given a stage-four cancer diagnosis in August 2024 and was told he had between one and two years left to live.

The Jersey local had been travelling home on June 27 after what he anticipates will be his last foreign trip.

Mr Lawson, who saw service in the Gulf, had organised the trip to the Canary Islands with a friend "to make special memories before I pass".

The return leg from Tenerife to Gatwick proceeded without issue, and the pair stayed overnight at a hotel near the airport.

But late on the Saturday evening, thunderstorms led to the cancellation of his onward flight to Jersey.

Under air passengers' rights regulations, easyJet was legally required to arrange a hotel, provide transport to reach it, and book the earliest available flight the following day.

Instead, according to Mr Lawson, airline staff informed him that he would have to sort out his own accommodation.

He was also told there were no available seats on an easyJet service to Jersey for another three days.

Staff did not make clear that the carrier was obliged to arrange an alternative flight with British Airways if doing so would have returned him home sooner.

"EasyJet left us to sort things out ourselves," Mr Lawson told The Telegraph.

"There was no accommodation in a 20-mile radius.

"When we knew we would have to sleep on the floor of the airport that night my friend begged for a blanket for me, as I'm actually having palliative care and have only a few months to live.

"EasyJet were not interested and said we might get a flight on Tuesday. Their service was disgusting."

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With no other option, Mr Lawson was forced to sleep on the hard floor of the carrier's check-in area, resting his head on a bag.

"I woke up at 3am and told a member of easyJet staff that I wasn't happy that the airline would let a dying man sleep on the floor," he said.

He was subsequently placed on the 8.30am departure to Jersey that Sunday morning.

When Mr Lawson later sought compensation from the airline, his claim was turned down on the grounds that the cancellation resulted from "extraordinary circumstances".

Regardless of the reason behind a grounding, carriers are duty-bound to provide overnight hotel stays for stranded passengers.

EasyJet has since issued an apology and refunded the air fares for both Mr Lawson and his companion.

"EasyJet destroyed my final holiday and have treated me without compassion," the veteran said.

A spokesman for the airline said: “We are very sorry to hear about Mr Lawson’s circumstances and for the difficulty he experienced on his journey to Jersey after his flight was cancelled because of thunderstorms suspending operations at London Gatwick.

“The safety and wellbeing of our customers is always our highest priority.

"We transferred Mr Lawson to a flight departing the following morning and while we always aim to secure hotel accommodation for customers where needed, as availability was limited we advised customers who booked their own that they would be reimbursed.

“We are in touch with Mr Lawson to apologise for his experience at the airport, which we are looking into with our ground handler at London Gatwick, [and will] reimburse any expenses and refund his flight as a gesture of goodwill.”

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