Drama in Innsbruck

After 28 (!) hours of waiting, the plane took off

(Bild: Privat)

Passengers who wanted to fly from Innsbruck to London were trapped at the airport for hours on a public holiday - the "Krone" reported. Now, almost 28 (!) hours later, the happy ending: the plane took off for the United Kingdom. The "Krone" knows how the passengers got their financial compensation.

"What an odyssey! I've never experienced anything like it!" said one of the passengers affected, who was in constant contact with the "Krone". The passengers were at the airport at 10 a.m. on the public holiday and the plane was due to take off at 10.55 a.m.. But, as is well known, nothing came of it. The reason: a technical problem. 

Last possible flight also fell through
"As we were already at boarding and our suitcases were in the plane, we were unable to leave the airport area for the entire day," said the Tyrolean. And not until shortly after 10 p.m. in the evening! "The airline easy jet had tried to send another plane from London to Innsbruck in the evening. But due to the strong foehn storm, it couldn't land and had to fly on to Salzburg Airport. And then the entire flight was canceled," she explained. 

The flight was scheduled to depart shortly before midday.

(Bild: Jasmin Steiner)

It worked! The plane is ready!

(Bild: Privat)

The scenarios played out at Innsbruck Airport.

(Bild: Jasmin Steiner)

"They were all overwhelmed"
The fact that the affected passengers had to find their own accommodation caused a great deal of resentment. "There were also some families with small children. They were all a bit overwhelmed, and there were no cabs on the airport grounds," said the Tyrolean. As someone who knows the area, she helped and called various cab companies, who then sent cabs straight away. She herself found shelter with a good friend. 

"I saw children crying, people in wheelchairs"
In the meantime, another passenger has also contacted the "Krone". "At 6 p.m. on Monday, the airline said that if it didn't work out with the rescue flight in the evening, they would take care of reservations in hotels for all those affected. That was a relief," she emphasizes to the "Krone", "but when we found out late in the evening that the flight had finally been cancelled, there was suddenly no more talk of hotel reservations. We had to take care of it ourselves." And then the Englishwoman gets emotional: "I saw children crying, there were people in wheelchairs - it was madness."

The woman wanted to leave the airport later that afternoon. "The only easy-jet employee I could find at the entire airport said that I couldn't pick up my luggage or leave. I would have to wait until the airline informed me of the next steps," she says, stunned, "the way we were all treated and almost held hostage was disgusting."

At 1.42 p.m., the haunting came to an end
That evening, the easy-jet airline informed us that the plane was due to take off at 1.30 p.m. the following day - i.e. today, Tuesday. The good news: it stayed that way! The plane that was supposed to take the passengers back to London on Monday evening and had a stopover in Salzburg took off at 1.42 p.m. and took the passengers home.

The passengers had to wait for hours.

(Bild: Privat, Krone KREATIV)

They received meal vouchers from the airline.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

How to get your compensation
The cry for help from these passengers came to the attention of employees of the Agency for Passenger and Passenger Rights, a state consumer arbitration board. They help in such cases free of charge and without commission. Specifically, they mediate with the airline free of charge for those affected if no agreement can be reached. 

"There is a list of passenger rights in the event of flight delays. It stipulates, among other things, that the airline should have provided food and accommodation during this enormously 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 Passenger Rights. The list of passenger rights can be found here: https://www.apf.gv.at/flugverspaetung

Be sure to keep the original invoice
It is also important that passengers keep their original invoices for expenses. "Here we are talking about hotel bills, meals, etc. This makes it easier to prove this to the airline and, if necessary, in arbitration proceedings," informs Loderbauer. This can only be submitted after the flight has taken place. 

There is also help on the easy jet homepage. For example: In the case of 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. You can find all the details here: https://www.easyjet.com/de/hilfe/boarding-und-fliegen/verspatungen-und-annullierung. The airline also emphasizes that in such cases it will endeavour to provide an easy-jet flight to the destination within 24 hours of departure of the original flight.

Submit hotel costs retroactively
With regard to accommodation, the homepage also states: "If the flight delay means you can't leave until the next day, our ground staff will arrange overnight accommodation for you." As mentioned above, this was not the case for the stranded passengers in Innsbruck. But there is hope here too: "In the unlikely event that we are unable to arrange hotel, catering or transportation costs directly for you on the day of your flight affected by an irregularity, you may be asked to cover reasonable costs yourself for the time being. In this case, please keep all receipts. You can claim these costs back on our side." For all those who would like to do this, here is the link: https://www.easyjet.com/de/claim/welfare