Rafael and Maggie Karoulla arrived at the airport when they realised the mistake
Rafael and Maggie Karoulla(Image: Rafael Karoulla / SWNS)
Two siblings got a big surprise when they arrived at the airport to catch their flight, only to realise they were a whole year early.
Rafael Karoulla from Manchester and his sister Maggie were catching their EasyJet flight to Barcelona from Gatwick airport.
But when they tried to check in online ahead of the trip they ran into an issue – they’d accidentally booked tickets for 2026, not 2025.
Rafael, 28, works in advertising, and was left shocked when he discovered what had happened.
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“I was really confident it was 2025,” he said. “You wouldn’t think you could book for a year ahead. Once we got to London we had five hours to spend.
“We tried to do it online [check-in]. We realised we’d booked for 2026.
“I started laughing.”
The siblings had been travelling in Thailand and then Rome(Image: Rafael Karoulla / SWNS)
Prior to their trip to Spain, Rafael and flight attendant Maggie, 30, had been travelling in Thailand before heading back to the UK via Rome.
The plan had been to fly over to London before setting off for Spain.
And in the midst of all those flights, Rafael realised he had gotten mixed up when making the booking for Barcelona.
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He said: “I was booking so many flights I didn’t check that much. She was a bit p***ed at me. But she was laughing at the same time.
“We were shocked.”
Due to the date being incorrect the pair were not allowed to board the flight, for which they had paid around £100 each.
The pair were left ‘shocked’ when they found out(Image: Rafael Karoulla / SWNS)
Fortunately, they were able to get another last minute booking onto a trip the same day for £70 each.
Rafael said: “We still have another ticket for next year – but we probably won’t use it.
The 28-year-old said he would now be a lot more careful when making bookings.
He said: “I didn’t think it was possible to book a year early.”