Scottish Catholic Observer

Archbishop Leo Cushley of St Andrews & Edinburgh Archdiocese has expressed his thanks to EasyJet, after the budget airline managed to get a group of stranded pilgrims home on Sunday after a three-day delay.

The 74-person group had journeyed to Fatima in Portugal for the centenary year celebrations of the apparitions, enjoying a spiritually uplifting pilgrimage until disaster struck.

The group were left stranded after EasyJet cancelled their flights, with the airline initially suggesting the group would be home by Tuesday October 31, five days after they were due to return to Scotland.

The pilgrims would be forced to split into smaller travel groups in order to be placed on alternative flights, with overnight stays in Luton and Milan.

This led to growing fears for the safety and health of the pilgrims, some of whom are elderly, have mobility issues, and were on repeat prescriptions.

The group had been placed in a hotel in Portugal with pilgrimage director Fr Scott Deeley, while Archbishop Leo Cushley and two other members of clergy were forced to ‘break the bank’ and pay for alternative flights, due to having a funeral, wedding and important engagements to attend.

Despite the initial estimate of a Tuesday return date, all pilgrims were home by Sunday after discussions between Archbishop Cushley and the Scottish chairman of EasyJet John Barton, with the archbishop explaining the particular needs of the group members.

“On behalf of the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh, I would like to thank everybody at EasyJet, from the chairman downwards, for working so hard to bring our pilgrims home from Portugal,” Archbishop Cushley said. “Once the company became aware of the particular issues facing our pilgrim group, they pulled out all the stops to get them back to Edinburgh in a swift and safe fashion.

“I would also like to thank Fr Scott Deeley, chancellor of the archdiocese, for working so closely and so tirelessly with EasyJet to resolve the situation and for all the pastoral and practical support he gave to the stranded pilgrims—a good shepherd indeed.”