A County Durham woman has told of her frustration at being told she won’t receive a refund for the Teesside Airshow despite sending off her tickets and paying for return postage.

Sandy Drew, from Cockfield, was looking forward to the Teesside Airshow on Saturday June 11 but was left more than disappointed after waiting in traffic for hours, alongside thousands of other visitors.

The airshow was plagued by issues back in June with a report into what went wrong listing ‘various failings’ that caused the event to descend into a shambles.

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Sandy, 54, told the Northern Echo: “We were really looking forward to the airshow. We moved up here a few years ago from Farnborough so we’ve been to a lot of air shows and really enjoy them.

“We set off with plenty of time to get to the airport for it starting, and the displays didn’t start til midday.

The Northern Echo: Sandy Drew is still waiting for a refund. Picture: THE NORTHERN ECHOSandy Drew is still waiting for a refund. Picture: THE NORTHERN ECHO

“But after four hours stuck in traffic we decided to stop off at a pub and come back after, and when we rejoined the queue we were in the same place and going nowhere. The queue was only moving when people were turning around.”

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To get a refund disappointed punters were asked to send their tickets back to organisers SkyLive, paying extra for postage and for a stamped return envelope which they were asked to include.

A deadline of July 4 was imposed for refunds but Sandy was told she wouldn't be given a refund because she sent her tickets back on July 5.

Operations Director Sandy added: “I sent off my tickets with the stubs on July 5 but when I got in touch with them to chase up my refund they told me I was a day late sending them off.

“It was only £27.50 for the tickets and I’ve paid for the postage, but it’s the principle of it.”

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People attempting to reach the airshow were met with non-moving traffic when they tried to enter the airshow.

The Northern Echo: The air show, which was held on Saturday June 11 was plagued by traffic problems. Picture: JIM SCOTTThe air show, which was held on Saturday June 11 was plagued by traffic problems. Picture: JIM SCOTT

A scathing report into what went wrong with the event’s traffic management plans was published on Tuesday June 28, slamming the plans, saying there were a number of lessons to be learned and that it is ‘very unlikely’ Teesside Airport will host another airshow.

The Northern Echo has contacted airshow organisers SkyLive for a statement.

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