A air passenger confronted a UK politician in an airport after enduring a 30-hour flight delay, report says
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- A passenger confronted a UK politician in an airport about her 30-hour flight delay, per The Mirror.
- The passenger claimed in a tweet the delays and airline staffing shortage were "compounded" by Brexit.
- Michael Gove told her Brexit hadn't triggered the flight delays, she told The Mirror.
A frustrated passenger confronted a UK politician in an airport because her flight was delayed by 30 hours, The Mirror first reported.
Candida Jones, a former councilor for the UK's Labour party, said on Twitter she was due to fly from Athens, Greece, to London's Gatwick Airport on Saturday, but EasyJet delayed the flight by 30 hours.
In the tweet, Jones said that while waiting at the Greek airport on Sunday, she came across Michael Gove, a former cabinet minister who was sacked by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in July.
Jones included pictures in the Twitter thread of Gove waiting in the airport. One showed him standing in a queue and another showed her talking to him.
Jones wrote in the Twitter post that the summer travel disruption and airline staffing shortage was "compounded" by Brexit — the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, which Gove supported.
Jones, who has said she opposed Brexit, told The Mirror that she spoke with Gove for 15 minutes in the bag-drop line, challenging him on Brexit's impact on the UK.
Gove told Jones that Brexit hadn't caused the flight delays, she said in an interview with The Mirror, adding that he was "polite but passive-aggressive." Gove said he was on vacation and it wasn't the appropriate place for the conversation, Jones told The Mirror.
Jones declined to comment when contacted by Insider. Gove and EasyJet didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside of normal working hours.
The incident came at a time when many passengers have been frustrated with travel disruption across the world. Some have faced delays and cancellations, while others have lost their luggage or been booked on the wrong flight. The chaos is partly down to airlines suffering from staff shortages since many workers were let go during the pandemic.