I got the Hilton hotel, they just got a sandwich and water...

While passengers were sleeping on hard marble floors at Palma airport last weekend, John Delaney and family were waiting in comfort for their delayed flight in the Gatwick Hilton, courtesy of tour firm Airtours. Mr Delaney and family spent in the region of £400 on flights to Majorca, in turn, Airtours spent over £1'500 to keep them happy and comfortable in their two day delay. They treated all members of the flight list in a similarly luxurious fashion, in contrast to those languishing in Palma airport. Airtours were responsible for many tourists over the strike period, being one of the major British tour operators. At the airport over the weekend they were providing waiting travellers with a sandwich, a drink and a blanket. The situation in Britain was a totally different story. “Airtours looked after us royally,” said Mr Delaney. “Yes, we were stuck in the airport the first night but after this, when they knew there would be delays, all the passengers from flight AOH 409 were coached out to The Hilton, The Meridian and the Europa Hotels, at Gatwick airport.” After waiting in Gatwick for a number of hours on Saturday with his family of five, Mr Delaney was plied with food vouchers for his family worth £12 each. The next day they were taken to the Hilton, where the day rate for a room is £100. They were given two rooms and vouchers worth £120 to buy lunch. Mr Delaney said “at this point they were shelling out vouchers thick and fast, there was no expense spared for us”.