Holiday to break the habit – Viennese family has been looking for their luggage for a month

The chaotic conditions at several airports in Europe have ruined the vacations of countless travelers – but the M. family from Vienna is an extremely egregious example. Here’s the log of a trip to the south of France, which understandably didn’t quite get into the holiday spirit: The family of four, the parents and their two teenage children, had planned two weeks on the Côte d’Azur. It would start on July 2, the flight from Vienna via Munich to Marseille was booked with Austrian Airlines.

This is where the first problem arose: the flight to Munich was cancelled, a rebooking via Paris and possibly continuing by train was not possible (strike in France!). The only chance to reach the destination in a reasonable amount of time was via Athens. So the lady first flew east to go from the Greek capital to Marseille. So far, so complicated.

Suitcase at Athens Airport
After they landed late in the south of France, there was no trace of all four suitcases: “No one could tell us where our luggage was or when it would be delivered,” says Eva M. Apart from a few belongings in their hand luggage, the quartet was lost at Marseille airport. Everything had to be bought new – from clothes to hygiene items.

Back in Vienna – it was mid-July – the four suitcases were still missing. As has now emerged, the pieces of luggage are rolling around somewhere at Athens airport (pictured below): “Of course we regret the inconvenience and have urged our colleagues on site several times,” an AUA spokeswoman told “Kron”. There, however, the stakes seem more than manageable.

Bad luck on the return flight to Vienna
Detail on the rim that knocks the bottom out of the barrel: Everything the M. family had to buy on the journey was also lost on the return flight Marseille-Munich-Vienna. And to this day! “But that doesn’t bother us now”, Eva M. can only smile about her failed holiday.