I was told I had to wait 12 days for a Manchester flight and now I'm never leaving the country again

A Manchester couple facing a 12-day wait for a flight home from storm-struck Dubai got back to the UK themselves - taking three days, three flights and seven taxis.

Alison Shah, 60, and her partner, Richard Kay, 52, we coming home from her birthday trip to Bangkok and Thailand when they got stuck in Dubai last Tuesday, April 16. With their flight home to Manchester rescheduled for next Sunday, April 28 - and the airport in chaos - they decided to take matters into their own hands.

They managed to get a five-hour flight from Dubai to Istanbul, where they were able to hop on a shorter flight to Dalaman - and then another five-hour flight home. Alison, an emergency control operator, said the ordeal was a "nightmare" but they needed to get back to work. Their detour journey home took a total of three days.

Alison, who finally arrived home on Sunday said: "We were originally due to get back on April 17 and we didn't get back until the 21st. I have never experienced anything like this.

"I told Richard that I never want to leave the country again which is sad as I love travelling. We paid a lot of money for the holiday and it has ended in a nightmare."

Alison and Richard were flying to Dubai from Thailand on their way back home to Manchester. Alison knew there were severe storms in Dubai but no announcements were made about the flight so she went to the airport and boarded the plane.

She said: "I was waiting for information from the airline to say 'don't come to the airport'. We didn't get any so we got on our scheduled flight. The plane circled above Dubai for an hour and a half before being able to land and we had a few hours to wait for our flight to Manchester."

Alison and Richard's flight to Manchester was due to depart Dubai airport at 3am but due to the bad weather, their flight kept getting delayed and delayed.

Alison said: "Finally at 8am, we started to board the plane, the plane was there. We then sat there for two and a half hours in the holding area waiting to get on the plane. Nobody was answering any questions and people were getting frantic. We were then told our flight was cancelled and we had to leave the airport."

Alison went to the connections desk and queued for hours before they were told to come back tomorrow and there will be a flight there for them.

Alison said: "We went back the following day and joined another queue for seven-and-a-half hours. We were waiting to board the plane and it kept saying delayed, delayed, delayed. The screen changed from Manchester to Sydney and they sent us away again."

Alison and Richard stayed in a hotel for the night which they paid for and braved the airport the next day. Alison said that they were offered a flight to Manchester on April 28.

She said: "We couldn't do that. We had to go to work and we had already been out of the country for a month. I asked if they could get us to another airport, if I could get near the UK I could work it out. They got us a flight to Istanbul."

On arrival in Istanbul on Friday, Alison and Richard discovered their luggage was missing meaning they had to buy clothes. Alison and Richard then travelled from Istanbul to Dalaman, Turkey, on Saturday to get a flight to Manchester.

Alison said: "We're pleased to be home, but really really upset not to be able to give the grandchildren the gifts and open the cases and do what you normally do when you get home.

"We are relieved to be back, when we walked in and my granddaughter was looking after the pets we had a nice welcome home. The relief of being home is mixed with the upset with not feeling normal. We're home but it is not over as we still have no luggage."

In an open letter from Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline, he said: "The UAE experienced its highest rainfall in 75 years. Lashing storm winds and rain disrupted activity across the cities.

"Our 24/7 hub in Dubai remained open, with flight movements reduced for safety, but flooded roads impeded the ability of our customers, pilots, cabin crew, and airport employees to reach the airport, and also the movement of essential supplies like meals and other flight amenities.

"We know our response has been far from perfect. We acknowledge and understand the frustration of our customers due to the congestion, lack of information, and confusion in terminals. We acknowledge that the long queues and waiting times have been unacceptable."