A TRAVEL agency has been hailed for saving the holiday of two York families after they were stranded at an airport.

Jill Sissons told today how her family, from Wigginton, and the Roberts family, from Haxby, were among hundreds of passengers who failed to get checked in to Ryanair flights on time earlier this month, and ended up missing their planes.

She said they had turned up with plenty of time to spare, after travelling down to the airport on a minibus supplied by Quartz Travel of Heworth – which she is now nominating for The Press Shop Of The Year award.

Because of a major shortage of Swissport check-in staff, their luggage was not checked in and their flight to Portugal took off without them.mShe said there were chaotic scenes as holidaymakers, including Question Time host David Dimbleby, queued for hours in confusion.

“It was an absolute nightmare,” she said. Ryanair and Swissport later apologised for the problems.

Jill said she was eventually told it would be six days later before they could be accommodated on another Ryanair flight, and they faced the dismal prospect of sleeping the Saturday night at the airport. In desperation, they contacted Quartz, even though the holiday itself had not been booked through the firm. Quartz then found accommodation for the families at a Stansted hotel, found flights for them with an alternative airline the following evening at Heathrow.

The minibus driver who had taken them to Stansted, shuttle manager Keith Muggeridge, took them across to Heathrow, and they went on to have a “marvellous” holiday. “Keith was so friendly, considerate and understanding of our situation,” she said.

“Quartz Travel saved our holiday. They provided exemplary customer service and turned our holiday around. They deserve special recognition – we cannot praise them enough.”

Quartz boss Paul Smith said he was shocked to have been nominated for the award.

“This level of service is what we provide – this is why we have expanded so much since we opened.”

• THE shop of the year contest, part of The Press York Means Business campaign, is intended to recognise exceptional quality of service.

The winners will enjoy the fabulous prize of a luxury night for two next month at York's Dean Court Hotel, followed by a champagne breakfast and a trip in a limo from White Stretch Limousines to attend The Press Family Raceday at York Racecourse.

Nominations for the award have now closed. The winner will be announced shortly.