UPDATE: |Couple sat in airport 35 minutes before Jet2 flight left devastated after checking their phone News

The couple were set to fly to Lanzarote

A couple were left devastated after their package holiday to Lanzarote was cancelled minutes before they were due to take-off amid the torrential flooding seen on the popular tourist hotspot.

Jon, 54, and Judi Saunders, 55, were sitting in the terminal of Leeds Airport when they received an email at 1.55pm informing them their Jet2holidays trip to Costa Teguise was cancelled due to the flooding.

It comes as locals on the Spanish island have declared a state of emergency and the UK Foreign Office has issued new advice for the disastrous floods, the DailyStar reports.

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Heavy rain resulted in flooding on the island over the course of the afternoon on Saturday (April 12), with emergency services reporting 240 incidents. At 4pm local time on Saturday, the Canary Islands government declared a state of emergency due to the risk of flooding caused by heavy rainfall, with residents and tourists advised to follow self-protection measures.

The Saunders’ flight was due to depart just 35 minutes later and the couple were forced to wait for their bags to be taken off the plane. Jon and teacher Judi said they were left ‘upset’ their holiday was cancelled and annoyed at the ‘terrible’ customer service they claim to have received.

Judi said: “They cancelled it 35 minutes before we were supposed to get on the flight. I was very upset, really. Customer services cut me off three times… I don’t want to hear that Jet2 music ever again.

“I’m just cross that they cut me off when I was in the airport and they couldn’t even respect the fact that we had difficulties with the noise in the airport. They just cut you off and that really wound me up.”

Jon added: “One woman was really good and helpful but a few were not helpful. I think it was individual rather than a company wide thing. We realise that this is nothing compared to what is happening in Lanzarote and the hotel and really hope the staff and residents are all okay.”

The married couple, who were told they would be refunded the full cost of the holiday, stayed in the terminal after retrieving their bags to see if they could get another package holiday but say they left after getting fed up dealing with some Jet2holidays staff. They also questioned why the package holiday wasn’t cancelled earlier when the floods started last night.

Judi said: “Basically, the people on the ground didn’t know anything. They couldn’t help us in any way because all they could tell us was, ‘you aren’t going’. As soon as we saw the floods on the news, we understood but why do we need to find that out? It was just communication.

“It was 35 minutes’ notice and the floods were yesterday, not today. They could have told me last night, especially when you have to pay £14 to go in and out of the airport because of the parking charges.”

Jon added: “The fact we were ready and we had our bags on the plane. We had to wait for them to be taken off again. We were just ready to fly. It was just one of those things. We were upset.

“They couldn’t find any alternatives and it was really busy. We had a lot of issues with customer service when we tried to rebook it.”

Judi is planning to spend her week off volunteering at Bradford 2025’s cultural offerings while Jon is going to go back to work.

A Jet2holidays spokesperson said: “Due to the severe weather conditions that have affected parts of Lanzarote, we regrettably have had no choice but to cancel a small number of holidays that were due to arrive into hotels that are temporarily closed due to the impact of these adverse conditions.

“Unfortunately, this includes Mr and Mrs Saunders’ holiday as, despite our best efforts, we were unable to source an alternative hotel at such incredibly short notice due to a shortage of accommodation.

“We contacted Mr and Mrs Saunders to let them know as soon as we learned of this, and to let them know their options which include rebooking or a full refund. Although this situation is completely outside of our control, we would of course like to offer our sincere apologies to Mr and Mrs Saunders.”

The Canary Islands government has now ended the state of emergency in Lanzarote after floods swept through the municipalities of Arrefife (Lanzarote’s capital), Teguise and San Bartolome on Saturday afternoon.