NEWS: Christmas in Cyprus?

By MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
22 December 2009

A CANCER sufferer has been left stranded in Cyprus as her dream holiday has turned into a nightmare with the cancellation of three flights home in the last week.
Patricia Vikis and husband Panos, of Leith, fell victim to the collapse of Flyglobespan when their flight home from the Mediterranean island was cancelled last Wednesday.

Patricia, 70, who was diagnosed with cancer three years ago, has to undergo chemotherapy every three weeks, but was given an extended leave by doctors to visit a holiday home the couple bought shortly before she was diagnosed.

It was the first time she had been well enough to visit the property, but the dream turned to a nightmare following the Flyglobespan collapse when an alternative EasyJet flight was also cancelled due to heavy snow.

A British Airways connection from Gatwick to Edinburgh was subsequently cancelled without a refund.

It was a case of third-time-unlucky when the couple tried to book another flight with Easyjet last Sunday via Manchester, only to be scuppered once again by poor weather. A connecting train was subsequently cancelled, again without a refund.

Mrs Vikis is due to undergo her next round of chemotherapy on Monday.

The couple's daughter Nicola McAndrew, 32, has been frantically trying to find alternatives to get her parents home, despite being eight months pregnant.

The family fear that the stress is taking its toll on the health of Mrs Vikis, her daughter and her unborn grandchild.

Mr Vikis, 65, a retired chemist, said: "It's been absolutely hellish. It's extremely unpleasant as our daughter is due to give birth any day now and she's not happy with us being stuck here.

"We've got a fourth flight booked with Thomas Cook tomorrow, so we've got our fingers crossed that this one takes off without a problem and we can make it home for Christmas.

"My wife is extremely distressed, and she's anxious to get home and see our daughter."

The family's worries have been exacerbated by the news that Nicola may have to undergo a Caesarian section.

Alison Vikis, 37, the couple's second daughter, said: "She's (Nicola] had to fork out about £1,500 to rescue our parents each time, and we won't see a great deal of it back.

"They can't get travel insurance because of my mum's illness, and they didn't pay by credit card.

"EasyJet initially refused a transfer when their first flight was cancelled, and only relented when Nicola practically broke down. However, she's lost a lot of money on the missed connections.

An EasyJet spokesman said their cancellations were the result of significant snowfall across the UK and parts of Europe.

He added: "EasyJet, like many airlines has experienced continued disruption this weekend.

"We can confirm that we will reimburse the passengers for their costs to return home, and would ask them to get in contact with our customer services team."