Youtz. The Nice-Luxembourg flight turns into a nightmare: a passenger tells
Passengers on the Nice-Luxembourg flight were to take off on Friday April 15 at 7.35 p.m. and arrive at their destination less than 1.5 hours later. Instead, the journey took on the appearance of a Stations of the Cross. The Volotea customers finally arrived in Luxembourg by bus, almost 24 hours late. The story of this misadventure is running at full speed on social networks. Testimonials and comments overlap. They mix anger and resignation.
Rémi Ethuin, 37, is one of the travelers. This inhabitant of the Var had just visited his family in Yutz. After several announcements, the plane left Nice two hours late. The flight is almost over. “And there, the captain tells us that we are no longer going to Luxembourg but to Lyon. He explains to us that it is a decision of Volotea”, report Rémi. “There was a wave of panic on the plane,” recalls the 30-year-old.
There are many passengers. It’s almost midnight. “There were elderly people, two young girls who were flying for the first time, animals in cages, infants… There was nothing to eat, nothing to drink,” says the user. Once the luggage has been collected, customers are directed to a hotel. Rémi and others perform there on foot. “We didn’t know anything. The problem is that we never knew anything. The information arrives in dribs and drabs.
“Quite intense stress”
Unable to rest. “There were some pretty intense stressful moments. A poster posted in the hallways of the hotel asks travelers to report to the lobby at 10 a.m. All will wait and end up reaching Luxembourg… by bus.
After the anger, the fatigue, the nervous laughter, the passengers remain united. “We collected emails and telephones to set up a joint action”, continues Rémi. He requires a minimum reimbursement of his ticket and compensation. “It’s out of the question to let it go, it’s not normal,” he annoys. The 30-year-old thinks in particular of the distress of an elderly gentleman whom the other travelers have helped.
The trip ended 24 hours after the scheduled departure. The bus driver agreed to drop people off at several stops before Luxembourg. Rémi went down to Metz on Saturday April 16 at 6 p.m.
Compensation
The airline explains that the plane landed in Lyon “due to the curfew imposed by Luxembourg airport”. Indeed, Lux Airport confirms the existence of this night curfew, which allows in particular to continue work in progress on the runways. The airport specifies that the airlines are warned. “They must calculate their arrivals and departures by taking these hours into account”, underlines the press service.
For its part, Volotea apologizes, announces that it will compensate passengers who request it. The company also invokes the strike movement that occurred this Easter weekend. “Volotea has made every effort to minimize the impact on its operations and ensure optimal service. Despite the protective device, the company had to cancel some of its flights and suffered delays due to incidents unrelated to the strike movement. Each time, the teams’ sole concern was to propose the best possible solution. »
Not sure that reassures Rémi Ethuin, the Var client on vacation in Yutz. He is supposed to take the same company for his return flight on Friday.