Those stranded are given toothbrushes and pillows
A British tourist had to wait 26 hours at Zurich Airport because his flight was cancelled. After all: For stranded people there is a toothbrush and a mat.
the essentials in brief
- Easyjet and British Airways are canceling numerous flights, and there is chaos at airports.
- In Zurich, 26 flights were canceled last week.
- Stranded passengers will be provided with a sleeping kit.
The Pentecost weekend brought total chaos to Europe’s airports! Thousands of people were stranded abroad because airlines such as Easyjet and British Airways canceled numerous flights at short notice. The reason: lack of staff.
Travelers from abroad also got stuck at Zurich Airport. A British tourist even had to wait 26 hours before he finally made it home. The video of his involuntary stay went viral.
The fact that passengers have to stay overnight at the airport is “usually rare”. Jasmin Bodmer, media spokeswoman for Zurich Airport, explains this to Nau.ch.
However, the most recent case was not long ago: On Monday, a passenger on the Easyjet flight to London Gatwick was stranded. This was postponed to the next day.
Zurich Airport distributes sleeping kits
She adds: “We provide sleep kits for people who stay overnight at the airport due to flight delays or cancellations.” These include extensive camping mats, pillows, blankets and toothbrushes.
Have you ever had to stay overnight at the airport?
73%
No, I’ve been lucky so far.
2
No, I’ve been lucky so far.
There is no particular accumulation of flight cancellations in Zurich – compared to Amsterdam, for example. “A total of 26 flights have been canceled since Monday,” says Bodmer.
There can be various reasons for this: operational reasons, the weather, the air traffic situation in European airspace or personnel reasons.
Airlines have too few staff for increased demand
Not only foreign airlines are struggling with staff shortages. The Swiss are also desperately looking for staff after the layoffs during the Corona crisis.
Because the increased demand for flights cannot be managed with the remaining employees.
As a consequence, Swiss has adjusted its summer flight schedule – and thus canceled tens of thousands of summer vacation flights. The parent company Lufthansa also canceled over a thousand flights in July.
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