Art student lands cash from South African airline CemAir thanks to Raw Deal

Isla Cruickshank has landed a £200 refund from a South African airline, thanks to Raw Deal.

The art student, 24, from Glasgow, had booked a trip to Plettenberg Bay in the West Cape province last February, to attend a family member’s 70th birthday.

However, her travel plans were scuppered when an internal flight from Johannesburg to Plettenberg on CemAir was cancelled two weeks before she left Scotland.

“CemAir was the only company flying to Plettenberg so I had to book and pay for another flight with another airline to the town of George, which is about a 90-minute taxi ride from my final destination,” she said.

The new flight and transfer cost Isla another £200. “When I got back home it was a nightmare trying to get in touch with CemAir in South Africa to get a refund,” she said. “The saga dragged on for months.”

Isla turned to Raw Deal for help and we contacted CemAir on her behalf.

CemAir said: “We are battling a massive backlog in the refund process and therefore there was a delay.

“We had to deal with some major challenges which set us back quite badly and this has had an effect on the entire process. It caused an administrative nightmare, to put it lightly.”

The airline moved Isla to the top of the queue for refunds and she now has her £200 back.

“I can’t thank Raw Deal enough,” she said. “I am a student and I just couldn’t afford to write off that sort of cash.”