Passengers wanting to fly from Innsbruck to London were stuck at the airport for hours during the holidays, the “Krone” reported. Now, almost 28 (!) hours later, the happy ending came: the plane left for Great Britain. The “Krone” knows how passengers receive their financial compensation.
“What an odyssey! I have never experienced anything like this!” said one of the affected passengers, who was in constant contact with the “Krone”. The passengers were at the airport at 10 a.m. during the holidays and the plane was supposed to leave at 10.55 a.m. But as we nothing came of it. The reason: a technical problem.
The last possible flight also fell through
“Because we were already on board and the suitcases were on the plane, we could not leave the airport grounds all day,” said the Tyrolean. And not until shortly after 10pm that evening! “The airline’s Easy Jet tried to send a plane from London to Innsbruck that evening. But due to the strong Föhn storm it could not land and had to fly to Salzburg airport. And then the whole flight was cancelled,” she said.
“They were all overwhelmed.”
The fact that the affected passengers had to find shelter themselves caused great dissatisfaction. “There were also some families with small children among them. “They were all a bit overwhelmed and there were no taxis at the airport,” the Tyrolean said. As someone who knows the area, she helped and called several taxi companies, who then immediately sent taxis. She herself found shelter with a good friend.
“I saw crying children, people in wheelchairs”
In the meantime, another passenger has also reported to the “Krone”. “At 6pm on Monday, the airline said that if the evening rescue flight is not successful, they will provide hotel reservations for all those affected. That provided relief,” she emphasizes to the “Krone”, “but when we heard late in the evening that the flight had been definitively canceled, there was suddenly no more discussion about the hotel reservations. We had to arrange it ourselves.” And then the Englishwoman becomes emotional: “I saw children crying, there were people in wheelchairs – it was crazy.”
The woman wanted to leave the airport later in the afternoon. “The only Easy Jet employee I could find in the entire airport said I couldn’t collect my luggage or leave. “I have to wait for the airline to inform me what the next steps will be,” she says in disbelief. “The way we were all treated and almost held hostage was disgusting.”
The haunting came to an end at 1:30 p.m
That evening, the airline easy-jet received a message that the plane would depart the next day – next Tuesday – at 1:30 PM. The good news: it stayed that way! The plane that actually wanted to take the passengers back to London on Monday evening and stopped in Salzburg took the passengers home.
This is how you get your compensation
Employees of the Agency for Passenger and Passenger Rights, a government consumer arbitration agency, became aware of these passengers’ cries for help. In such cases they help free of charge and without commission. In concrete terms: They mediate free of charge with the airline for those affected if no agreement is possible.
“There is a list of passenger rights in the event of flight delays. This states, among other things, that the airline should have provided food and accommodation during this extremely long waiting time. In addition, everyone on the flight is entitled to a compensation payment of 250 euros, which must be paid regardless of the ticket price,” explains Georg Loderbauer from the Agency for Passengers and Passenger Rights. The list of passenger rights can be found here: https://www.apf.gv.at/flugverspaetung
Make sure you keep the original invoice
It is also important that passengers keep the original expense reports. “Here we are talking about hotel bills, meals, etc. This makes it easier to prove this to the airline and, if necessary, in an arbitration procedure,” Loderbauer said. You can only submit this after the flight has taken place.
There is also help on the easy jet homepage. For example: for canceled flights, the airline basically offers three options on its homepage: a free rebooking to another flight, a voucher for the total value of the flight, a refund. All details can be found here: https://www.easyjet.com/de/hilfe/boarding-und-flies/verspatungen-und-annullierung. The airline also emphasizes that in such cases it strives to provide an easy flight to the destination within 24 hours of the departure of the original flight.
Submit retroactive hotel charges
Regarding accommodation, the homepage also states: “If the flight delay means that you cannot depart until the next day, our ground staff will arrange an overnight stay for you.” As mentioned above, this was not the case for the stranded passengers in Innsbruck. But here too there is a glimmer of hope: “In the unlikely event that we cannot arrange hotel, food or transport costs directly for you on the day of your flight affected by an irregularity, you may be asked to pay the reasonable costs yourself for the time being to wear. In this case, keep all receipts. You can reclaim these costs on our website.” For anyone who would like to do this, here is the link: https://www.easyjet.com/de/claim/welfare
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
