'Extended break' holiday nightmare

The stark reality of an extended stay in Malaga was no laughing matter for four local women who finally got back home on Friday.

Last week the ‘MAIL’ told how Louise Tennyson, Gillian O’Hara, Andrea Woods and Patricia Woods went on a six day sun-seeking break to Spain. However, an Icelandic ash cloud turned their short break into a fortnight stay. The ladies were supposed to get home last Thursday, but didn’t arrive until midnight on Friday - eight days later.

Louise said: “We left to go to the airport at four, the flight wasn’t until 20 past eight, but we made sure we were there in good time. We didn’t want to miss another flight.”

Louise’s daughter had been ill while she was away and when the two were reunited they had a lot to catch up on.

“She was surprised to see me,” said the 33-year-old from Pinebank. “She really missed her mum. I missed her too. I’m happy she was in good hands while I was away.”

Louise added: “We were in limbo when we were out there. We were hearing rumours and were going back and forth to the airport in the hope that we’d get home.”

Andrea, whose job it was to hold on to all the receipts, said: “We had been looking into getting a boat home, but we were told if we didn’t use Aer Lingus we wouldn’t get a refund, so we waited until Friday to get a flight.

“It’s great to be back home. We really appreciated everyone who helped us out when we were stuck out there.”

Andrea, who works at Church Walk surgery with Louise, said: “We are very grateful to our employers for their generosity and support.”

Louise commented: "It's put me off going away again. If I do, it'll be by car or boat."