The sun holiday in Crete came to a sad end for nearly 400 Swedish travelers when their plane home was delayed 24 hours.
Passengers are complaining about poor service – and Ving says a long list of problems is behind the delay.
– It was a nightmare with a total lack of care and information, says Andreas Albadri from Stockholm.
The airline Sunclass flight DK1663 with 381 Swedish charter passengers from Ving on board was supposed to have departed from Chania airport on Crete to Arlanda at 01.20 on Sunday night.
But the trip was delayed for a day. After several announcements about new departure times, the passengers were finally told that the plane would take off at 01:10 on Monday night.
”Traveler's nightmare”
– We had a great holiday week in Crete but the chaos of the last 24 hours ruined everything. No information from Ving. Their hosts on site are not helpful, you have to chase them to get information, says Andreas Albadri, 22, from Stockholm.
– It became a nightmare for hundreds of travelers. There are no hotel rooms. We were left on chairs and floors at the airport, families with children and the elderly were forced to spend the night and the whole day on hard chairs and directly on the floor, both inside and outside the terminal, he says.
He and his girlfriend Isabelle Bakker, 21, who both work as hotel receptionists in Stockholm, spent a lovely week in the town of Rethymno. They are happy with both the hotel and the beaches, but say the last 24 hours were a sad end to their holiday.
– Ving sent out a text message in the middle of the night asking us to book hotels ourselves, but everything on the entire island is fully booked. We first received a food voucher of 20 euros per person. It's a mockery, it's barely enough for breakfast at the airport, says Andreas Albadri.
”Unfortunate circumstances”
Later on Sunday they managed to find a hotel and they also received promises from Ving of higher compensation for food.
The tour operator Ving points to a long series of "unfortunate circumstances" that caused the long delay: technical faults, passengers who suddenly wanted to get off, and the fact that it was difficult to find hotel rooms in Crete for the crew, who according to the rules must rest.
– First there was a technical fault on the plane from Arlanda to Crete. Then four passengers didn't want to come along so we had to remove all the luggage. The plane couldn't take off from Arlanda until 2am, says Anna Hagberg, communications officer at Ving.
– When the plane arrived in Crete, the crew's duty time had expired. So they couldn't fly back straight away as planned. They had to rest, it's strictly regulated, she says.
One day delay
All of these factors combined led to a 24-hour delay. She explains that everything is fully booked in Crete during high season, but they managed to arrange for their travelers to stay in hotel areas and by the pools on Sunday.
– We fully understand that travelers are frustrated. We are truly sorry, it is a challenging situation for everyone affected. We are doing what we can and providing reasonable compensation for food and hotel rooms for those who manage to arrange accommodation themselves, says Anna Hagberg.
Source: Expressen.se
