EasyJet overbooks honeymoon flight – and leaves groom behind at Gatwick

Simon CalderMon, August 3, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC

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Honeymooners Andy and Katya Wedlake were unable to fly together

Andy and Katya Wedlake arrived in good time at Gatwick Airport for their honeymoon flight on easyJet to Tivat on the coast of Montenegro. They had booked the trip months in advance, set for 8.25am on Sunday, July 26. In the early hours, they tried to check in online, but were unable to do so. When they reached the easyJet zone at the airport’s North Terminal they discovered why.

“They had overbooked the flight,” said Mr Wedlake. “They could only give us seats once boarding had closed – and if other people didn’t turn up to the flight.”

Selling more tickets than there are available seats is standard practice for many airlines. EasyJet’s policy is to deny boarding to the last passengers to check in. But under air-passenger-rights rules, carriers that overbook must seek volunteers to travel on a later flight in return for financial compensation.

At the departure gate, easyJet staff asked whether anyone was prepared to travel on the next morning’s flight. Mr Wedlake said: “There was one volunteer, opening one seat on the plane.”

At this point the couple expected to be told they would fly the next day together. But instead of moving both to the next morning’s flight, ground staff insisted one of them must fly or they would need to buy new tickets for the next day.

Mr Wedlake said: “They said that either my wife or I had to take that seat otherwise we would count as a ‘no show’ and would lose all rights for rebooking and any compensation. So my wife got on the flight and I stayed behind.” He returned to their home in London while she flew to the Adriatic resort. The couple were finally reunited for their honeymoon 21 hours later.

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The newlyweds were en route to the Montenegrin resort of Tivat - EyeEm/Getty

A spokesman for easyJet said: “We are very sorry for Mr and Mrs Wedlake’s experience and the difficulty this caused for their honeymoon. Like most airlines, we sometimes overbook a very small proportion of flights and in the significant majority of cases do not result in denying boarding as we use data to select flights with a history of customers not travelling. By filling these seats, it helps to keep fares lower for everyone.

“In the rare event a customer can’t travel, we take our responsibilities seriously and seek volunteers to travel on a later flight in exchange for compensation. Where this is not possible, a decision is made based on order of check in.

“Whilst a seat was available for one passenger, we are sorry that an exception was not made on this occasion to book an alternative flight for them together, especially as it was such a special trip. We have since reached out to Mr and Mrs Wedlake to apologise for their experience, provide the compensation due and offer a gesture of goodwill.”

Under air passenger rights rules, Mr Wedlake is entitled to £350 for being denied boarding. He said: “For me that doesn’t cover the stress, the sadness of being apart from my new wife, the loss of one full day in Tivat, or the wasted time.

“I understand easyJet’s terms and conditions allow them to do this kind of thing, but I’m shocked they do it to destinations where they only put on one flight per day – and that they would not be able to predict this flight on a Sunday morning in summer would have a high attendance rate.”

While most airlines overbook flights, Jet2 and Ryanair notably do not.

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