Mating Turtles Keep Grumbling British Tourists Grounded in Greece

For several days, dozens of British tourists could not leave the Greek island of Zakynthos because it was turtle mating season. Night flights were banned for the sake of the threatened animals’ protection – the lights and noise of planes can disturb them.

British tourists were stranded on the island of Zakynthos, also known as Zante, from July 30 to August 1. At first, their flight to London Gatwick was delayed due to technical problems. British airline EasyJet announced the replacement of the aircraft after reports of a breakdown, but the new aircraft could not get to the airport because of the curfew.

Night flights are forbidden over the island during the mating of loggerhead turtles, in order not to disturb them. The mating animals are in danger of extinction.

Loggerhead sea turtles are listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species as "vulnerable." Usually, loggerhead turtles' nesting occurs every two years, and each clutch has about 110 eggs. According to experts, 500 egg clutches were found on the Greek island this year, but this is significantly less than in previous years. The population of turtles is rapidly falling due to a bad environment and human beach activity in the nesting area.

Passengers claimed that they were promised the problem would be solved in 20 minutes, but in fact they spent several hours in a state of uncertainty. They also complained that the airport staff did not provide them with any support, and they were poorly fed.

@easyJet can you let us know what's going on? Day 2 stuck at Zante airport. Now replacement flight isn't going. No staff coming to see us!

— Rebecca Clark (@rebeccajc78) 31 июля 2017 г.

#easyjet please can you confirm if our flight EZY9746 from Zante to Gatwick is happening today? #stranded #daytwo

— Mark Longbottom (@LongbottomMark) 31 июля 2017 г.

Easy Jet, your a joke, my son is at Zante airport cancelled flight 24 hours ago, no rep in sight, disgusting service #easyJet

— Russ Wordie (@Russwordie) 31 июля 2017 г.

EasyJet apologized for the delay. The airline assured that passengers were provided with accommodation and will receive compensation payments.