Airports can always be a wee bit of a rip-off - what with the hiked up expenses for food, extortionately-priced bevs and, for one unlucky customer, a hefty plane ticket home.
One woman was left absolutely raging after finding out at the airport while trying to get home that she was 'banned' from a TUI flight.
The jilted jet-setter was subsequently made to forked out a small fortune to return home to London Gatwick after enjoying a holiday in sunny Montego Bay, Jamaica, earlier this month (8 June).
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Victoria Devorie, who lives in Crosby, opened up about her experience with the travel company and claimed she was shouted at by a staff member after accidentally walking into the galley on the way to the toilet.
What Victoria didn't know, however, was that an announcement had been made by the crew to say the galley was a working kitchen and had asked passengers to avoid it
The 44-year-old, who has autism, said it was when she was waiting for the loo that one of the air stewards spoke to her in a 'disrespectful manner'.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, she said: "I went up the other side of the plane and was waiting to use the toilet and I moved out of the way for another passenger, and I can remember it verbatim, I stepped a foot into the galley and this crew member reprimanded me like a child.
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"When you have autism, certain situations can trigger you. You can go into fight, flight or freeze. Initially I froze and I apologised to him and I said 'I am really sorry, I know the rules, I am just getting out the way of a passenger.
"You don’t need to talk to me in the way you are talking to me. You’re being really combative'."
Victoria disclosed just how confused she felt by what went down after exiting the wrong way and claimed she was 'yelled at' by a flight attendant.
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She continued: "I was trying to make him understand I wasn’t doing it on purpose and I said I was sorry. I said 'I work in service' and he said 'oh right so what, if somebody stepped into your kitchen you wouldn’t be annoyed?'"
Clearly distressed by the whole ordeal, Victoria also claimed she had made the airline aware she was autistic when she booked the holiday: "The situation left me feeling incredibly upset and triggered, especially considering that TUI was aware of my autism before the flight."
A spokesperson for TUI has since told LADbible that Victoria 'did not seek any specific assistance with the TUI customer service team during the booking process'.
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Talking about TUI, she said: "They then issued me with a letter telling them I was a flight risk, banned from the flight and they cited on the second page I was drunk, arguing with crew and passing through the galley. I looked at them like 'what am I supposed to do?'"
Victoria ended up having to pay a staggering £2,500 for a Virgin flight to Heathrow while her partner boarded the initial TUI flight.
"I literally sat in the airport, continuously on the phone to my mum. My phone died and I didn’t have the right USB cable, so I couldn’t charge my phone," she went on.
The fiasco was so stressful it led to a 'meltdown' with Victoria recalling: "I sat where my partner had left me, I sat there for nine hours. I didn’t even go to the toilet, I didn’t even have a drink of water.
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"It was just playing around and around in my head and was like 'I wasn’t drunk'."
She also said the incident left her feeling 'unwanted, vulnerable, and afraid, causing serious panic attacks'.
A TUI spokesperson has since told LADbible they are 'sorry to hear' about the events leading to Victoria 'being refused boarding on her flight'.
They continued: "However the safety and security of all our customers and crew remains our highest priority.
"We have a zero tolerance policy to disruptive behaviour on our flights and it unacceptable to willingly ignore crew safety commands.
"At TUI, we strive to meet all our customers holiday needs and want to make travelling with us a smooth experience from start to finish.
"We have a team on hand to work with customers who may require additional support during their holiday."
Rhiannon Ingle