The Jet2 passengers said they were told it was for “operational reasons”

UK tourists flying back from Majorca have shared how they were stuck in the airport for 20 hours due to “operational reasons.”

Passengers booked onto the Jet2 11.35am flight on July 21 from Palma Airport to Belfast were allegedly sent to board their flight as travellers would usually expect, before they were told of a delay.

At first, the airline reportedly told flyers this would be a few hours, however, shortly after, holidaymakers claimed the journey was pushed back 12 hours, with the plane estimated to take off at around midnight that day.

But, in an unexpected turn of events, passengers described how they were then informed the flight would not be taking off at all at this point.

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The airline ensured travellers were allocated a hotel room for the night, but some shared their concerns after it was alleged this process took around three hours.

Due to this, passengers claimed they had been waiting in the airport for 20 hours before they were shipped to temporary accommodation for the night.

A woman due to board the flight, who wished to remain anonymous, told BelfastLive of the “horrendous” experience: “We have always thought Jet2 were an excellent company, but the communication has just been awful.

“I have three young children, and there were a lot of other children getting on that flight. They had a few nappies, but there was no ready-made milk left for any of the babies, and they had power but couldn’t provide us with boiling water. When we went to get that, you were charged for it in the cafes.

“They sent out information to the passengers before their own staff to tell us the flight was delayed by 12 hours. The staff would give us no information, they said the window wiper was broken on the plane, and apparently the wrong replacement part was sent.

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“I was on the 24/7 helpline constantly, and they couldn’t give us any information. They kept telling us our flight was going to go at 12.20am. Between 12.30am and 1am, they told us the flight wasn’t happening.”

She explained how the hotel allocation process had worked the day after the incident, alleging: “We all had to go down and get our luggage then we stood for around three hours while they tried to get us hotels. We were getting our hotels at around 4am, after having been in the airport from about 8am the day before.

“I asked if there would be a cot in the hotel for my baby and they said there would be. I Googled the place before we left and it was adults only – they were sending me there with my three young children.

“They booked us in to a different hotel, and didn’t tell the driver we were going to this new hotel. The situation has been horrendous.

“Our flight is meant to go at 5.35pm today, and I have been on the phone with the helpline all day and nobody can guarantee it will happen.”

A spokesperson for Jet2 told the publication: “Flight LS362 from Palma to Belfast International has been delayed due to operational reasons. Despite our best efforts to get customers back to the UK yesterday, the flight had to night stop at Palma Airport and our teams have been working very hard to look after everyone including arranging hotel accommodation and refreshments.

“We have continued to communicate with customers throughout and will be flying customers back to Belfast today.

“We understand the inconvenience that this may have caused, and we would like to apologise to customers affected by this unforeseen delay.”

PATTAYA, Thailand – As Thailand charts a new course for its tourism industry with the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT) recently unveiled 2026 strategy, Pattaya stands at the crossroads of anticipation and transformation. Under the theme “Value is the New Volume,” TAT’s ambitious plan signals a decisive shift from focusing on visitor numbers to prioritizing quality, sustainability, and authentic experiences — a vision that many here hope will breathe fresh life into the city’s tourism landscape.

Long known internationally as an energetic beach destination with a reputation for nightlife, Pattaya has often faced challenges balancing mass tourism with sustainable growth. Now, with TAT’s emphasis on redefining Thai tourism through integrity, safety, and cultural connection, the city’s stakeholders see an opportunity to reshape its identity and appeal.

The strategy’s core pillars — prioritizing value over volume, balancing tourism across regions and seasons, advancing creative and thematic tourism, and embedding measurable sustainability standards — resonate strongly with Pattaya’s evolving ambitions. Local entrepreneurs and officials alike recognize that Pattaya’s future lies in delivering more meaningful and diverse experiences rather than simply attracting larger crowds.

“The new focus on quality and sustainability aligns perfectly with what Pattaya needs,” said a local business owner involved in cultural and wellness initiatives. “We’ve already started to diversify, hosting more family-friendly festivals, arts events, and eco-tourism activities. Now, with TAT’s support, we hope these efforts will grow into something that truly changes how visitors see and enjoy the city.”

TAT’s strategy also highlights the importance of targeting high-potential traveler segments, including Millennials seeking immersive experiences, Gen Z driven by digital engagement, luxury tourists, and health-conscious travelers attracted to holistic wellness. For Pattaya, this means expanding beyond its traditional markets to attract visitors who value cultural depth, nature, and wellness — areas in which the city has begun to invest but can further develop with stronger national backing.

Moreover, the plan’s focus on enhanced connectivity through new travel routes by land, sea, air, and rail promises to better link Pattaya with other regions and international markets. Improved visa facilitation and partnerships with airlines are expected to open doors to high-value travelers from Europe, the Middle East, and emerging Asian markets, offering hope for more balanced and resilient tourism flows.

City officials are already aligning local initiatives with TAT’s vision, emphasizing smart tourism measures such as digital payment systems, safety enhancements, and AI-driven visitor management. Beach clean-ups, infrastructure improvements, and collaborations with creative agencies to stage international events aim to create a more welcoming and sustainable environment for both tourists and residents.

Yet, amid the optimism, some local operators express cautious realism. “We’ve heard grand plans before, but what we really need now is timely action and concrete support,” said a guesthouse operator near Jomtien beach. “If the incentives, infrastructure, and marketing efforts come quickly, Pattaya can adapt and thrive in this new era. But delays could mean missed opportunities.”
The 2026 strategy’s embrace of Thailand’s cultural soft power — focusing on Food, Film, Fashion, Festivals, and Fight (martial arts) — offers Pattaya a platform to elevate its diverse offerings, from culinary tours and international music festivals to Muay Thai events and film productions. This holistic approach aims not only to attract visitors but also to foster deeper connections and lasting impressions.

As Pattaya prepares for the upcoming tourism seasons, the mood is one of hopeful vigilance. The city is poised to move beyond its legacy as a party hotspot toward becoming a multifaceted destination that embodies the new Thai tourism ethos: sustainable, authentic, and value-driven.

With Thailand’s broader tourism landscape evolving rapidly under TAT’s bold 2026 blueprint, Pattaya’s future success hinges on the effective translation of strategy into on-the-ground realities. For a city that has weathered many ups and downs, the promise of “Value is the New Volume” offers a compelling vision — one that Pattaya is eager to help realize.

In today’s competitive hiring environment, the ability for companies to move quickly on talent is more paramount than ever. That includes identifying high-quality candidates and moving them through the pipeline faster than competitors are able to.

Enter Ashby. The 7-year-old San Francisco-based startup has built an “all-in-one” AI-powered platform designed to help businesses more efficiently manage the recruitment process. As a testament to its growing popularity, Ashby says it more than doubled its customer base over the past year — from about 1,300 to more than 2,700 — and saw its ARR jump by 135%.

Those customers are a high-profile bunch, including the likes of startups Ramp, OpenAI, Harvey.ai, Notion and Cursor, as well as enterprises such as Shopify and Snowflake. The company aims to replace three or four products at any given company with its offering.

“We’re becoming a default for startups and for the midmarket,” said CEO and co-founder Benji Encz in an interview. “The vast majority of our growth has been word of mouth.” Ashby’s enterprise segment is growing as well — 123% year over year.

Investors appear to like what they see. Today, Ashby is announcing that it has raised $50 million in a Series D round of funding, just over one year after raising its $30 million Series C, it tells Crunchbase News exclusively. The company declined to reveal its valuation, saying only it was a 2x increase compared to its most recent raise.

Alkeon Capital and returning backer Lachy Groom co-led the round, which also included participation from F-Prime, Elad Gil, Gaingels and others.

Encz claims the company still has the “vast majority” of its Series C left in the bank.

“Our burn multiple has been below one for all of this year,” he told Crunchbase News. “We got preemptive interest on strong terms and since there are a number of years we’re going to invest before turning profitable, we felt it was a good time to add to the cash balance.”

“The extra $50 million puts us in a much more comfortable position,” he added.

Integration is key

Ashby co-founders Encz and Abhik Pramanik met while working at construction software startup PlanGrid. As director of engineering, Encz spent much of his time recruiting. Pramanik was a senior product manager.

They spent the first two years after starting Ashby building out the product before launching in 2020. Their strategy was to build everything in-house so all the products could be integrated, and to do so in a way in which it would have the ability “to build future products.”

“The underlying foundation that we invested in significantly in the first two years of building Ashby is what enables us to add on these additional products into one platform with a clean user experience across all needs of a talent acquisition team,” Encz said.

At the core of Ashby’s offering is an Applicant Tracking System, which manages all of the interactions of applications for any given company, down to extending offers. But also layered into its software is a CRM to help companies discover talent; a scheduling tool that allows applicants to self-schedule; and pipeline analytics and sourcing via LLM-powered search.

The tasks Ashby’s software can do for a company include posting job openings on platforms outside of a company’s website, ask qualified and open-ended questions in job postings “to get signals from a candidate,” and personalizing outreach in sourcing.

A big part of what Ashby touts is that it not only helps companies manage applicants but also “goes after candidates who are not applying,” Encz said.

Early AI adoption

The company claims it was among the first to market with AI functionality at the time of its Series C. Doing so means teams don’t need to add on another AI tool, but rather take advantage of the fact that AI is embedded into Ashby’s product, according to Encz.

“We have a number of existing and upcoming AI features, with usage of AI in Ashby growing 50% over the past year alone,” he told Crunchbase News.

However, Encz is quick to point out that Ashby is not totally reliant on AI.

“The way we’ve designed it is that we always still keep the human in the loop,” he said. “… but it’s still always a human reviewing date in the end.”

‘Intelligent hiring operating system’

Ashby is using its new capital primarily to invest in product development (specifically focusing on advancing its AI capabilities), customer success and its talent community programs.

Presently, the remote-first company has 220 employees in over 21 countries. It also has customers around the globe but is currently focused on North America and EMEA.

Mark McLaughlin, general partner at Alkeon Capital, told Crunchbase News via email that he views Ashby as an “intelligent hiring operating system” that helps companies “operate with precision, speed and intelligence.”

“The world is entering a new infrastructure cycle. Every system that companies rely on — CRM, ERP, finance, security, and yes, hiring — is being rebuilt with AI at the core,” he added. “We believe Ashby is the clear candidate to own not just the traditional ATS swim lane but also, and more importantly, the expanded footprint of what a modern talent OS can be.”

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Illustration: Dom Guzman