Airline passengers were left in the wrong country overnight due to staffing issues

• Passengers on a TUI flight were delayed in Tenerife overnight due to staffing issues.
• The plane was due to fly from Cape Verde to Manchester but was forced to stop to replace the crew.

Passengers on a flight from Cape Verde to Manchester were stuck overnight in Tenerife in the Canary Islands after their plane made an unscheduled stop.

Shortly after the TUI flight took off on December 16, passengers were told the plane needed to make a stop because the crew had reached the maximum number of hours they were allowed to work, the Liverpool Echo reported.

All airline staff have mandated working hours to prevent them from working when fatigued. The maximum flying time for commercial pilots is 100 hours in 28 consecutive days, per the Civil Aviation Authority's (CAA) website.

The TUI crew was due to be replaced during the stop in Tenerife. Instead, passengers said they arrived at a largely deserted airport. The flight was then delayed overnight and passengers were taken to hotels on the island, one passenger told the Liverpool Echo.

A TUI representative told Insider that the airline had arranged hotels, transport, and food for all the passengers.

The passenger told the local news outlet: "The communication and co-ordination from TUI was embarrassing. We were not told where we were going. It was very disorganized and chaotic. There were about 150 of us and some people were visibly distressed and trying to organize plans back home."

A spokesperson for TUI told Insider: "We understand the frustration of customers on flight TOM439, who were delayed overnight in Tenerife."

They said: "We do our best to ensure customers get to and from their destinations on time, and we'd like to apologize for this inconvenience. Situations like this are rare, and we thank customers for their patience and understanding."