The endless ordeal of passengers on a Nice-Luxembourg flight
LThe trip seemed endless. On Friday April 15, passengers on flight V72578, which operated from Nice Côte d’Azur airport to Luxembourg airport, took almost 24 hours to reach their destination. The initial journey was planned to last 1h30, but the Spanish company Volotea accumulated delays and glitches, such as the France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur report. Announced for 6:35 p.m., boarding was initially postponed by one hour and ten minutes. At the appointed time, only some of the passengers were able to board the plane, with the other customers eventually being priced to wait for a priority plane, which used the same departure line, to fill up. The chartered aircraft took off two hours late. The crew justified this delay by citing a problem with their luggage, which occurred during the outward flight departing from Luxembourg.
The passengers do not suspect that this is the beginning of the nightmare. After an hour in the air, the captain announces that the machine must turn around, because it cannot land in Luxembourg. In the meantime, the airport had “closed”, indicates France 3. The airline changes its trajectory and joins Lyon airport, 500 kilometers from the destination, where everyone is invited to pick up their luggage. Around 12:30 a.m., after enjoying a well-deserved snack, passengers are picked up at a nearby hotel. The next day, Saturday April 16, a bus, which arrived around 10:30 a.m., hit the road with exhausted passengers.
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A curfew at the origin of this disruption of itinerary
Asked about this grotesque situation by France 3, Volotea simply replied that “the company apologizes for these inconveniences”. The company having explained was forced to repatriate the plane “due to the curfew imposed by Luxembourg airport”. “Each time, the only concern of the Volotea teams was to offer the best possible solution to its passengers. The company therefore offered the hotel night, breakfast included, to all passengers and made buses available to reach Luxembourg the next morning, ”supports the press release.
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