Tunisia 2024 - Failed 1st Attempt Thanks to CloudStrike

Our summer family holiday got off to a very bad start on July 19th when CloudStrike made a Microsoft SW update and caused a global IT shutdown resulting in over 5,000 flights around the world being cancelled. 

We set off for Luton airport around 11am with no idea there was a global IT issue and all we had received was an update from Tui that our flight was delayed an hour until 5:40pm. Me and Brandon had worked forward with the flight time, transfer etc and reckoned that still gave us time to hit the bar for a rum and coke.

Once we dropped off the car we entered the terminal and it was absolutely mobbed with people and queues just seemingly going everywhere with no check-in terminals open. After about an hour we managed to check our suit cases on and headed through security to get some dinner.

We went in to this Italian restaurant and had a really nice meal and a sit-down whilst we watched the notice board worryingly showing more and more flights coming up red and cancelled, but still being optimistic about our flight (the only Tui one on the board) which was orange and showing an estimated time. However our day was about to go from bad to worse as I took Holly to the toilet and then heard over the PA system that our flight had also been cancelled and we needed to go to Gate 6 to retrieve our cases and exit the airport.

After a long wait to retrieve our cases and an even longer wait to find a Tui rep, the story started to unfold regarding the global IT issue. Initially it looked like Tui were going to re-schedule the flight and get a taxi for us all to a hotel in Milton Keynes for the night. This then changed to a coach being arranged which was apparently stuck in Gatwick. The we heard that Tui were having a crisis meeting with a possibility of the flight and holiday being cancelled. By around 9pm worst case scenario was confirmed and our whole holiday had been cancelled. We all felt sick to the stomach having been so excited for this holiday and poor Holly was in tears.

Anyway we pulled ourselves together and called Purple Parking to let them know we needed our car back. As they had already moved it to a long stay car park we were told to wait in the terminal as it might take them up to an hour to get our car! Eventually we arrived back home around 23:45 having spent circa 12 hours and going nowhere over than a day out in Luton airport (oh and on the hottest day of the year with temperatures hitting 32 degrees).

Having spent 2 hours on the phone the next day we have now managed to re-book the same holiday through Tui, but flying out of Gatwick on EasyJet and leaving on July 23rd now. Thus we have had to reduce our holiday from 14 nights to 10 nights now, but at least we will still get a holiday and at our original destination 🤞.

I am now out of pocket significantly having incurred lots of cost to get us to Luton, fed, hydrated, car parking etc which somehow I have got to claim back through Tui or the insurance. Not only that I have got to try and re-book our two day Sahara visit, check-in for new Easy Jet flights and get some food in for the next few days as we had emptied the house expecting to travel on the 19th.

It was all smiles when we arrived at Luton and was quite near the front of the queue to check in for our Tui flights.

It was quickly evident there was a big problem as the airport was bedlam.

No real order to the queues and not a single check-in desk open due to CloudStrike.

Patiently waiting for news of a re-scheduled flight or a taxi / coach to an overnight hotel.

Our bags retrieved, but it quickly became evident we were going nowhere today.

Holly kept smiling, but those smiles soon turned in to tears when we were given the bad news that our whole holiday was cancelled.

A very unhappy Holly sitting on the Easy Jet scales as we seeked anywhere to sit down for a while and take the load off of our feet.

Me trying to entertain Holly with coin flipping, making her a prisoner in the retractable barriers and any other means.

But we waited for nothing and ended up going back home!😭