Their flight from Gran Canaria to Ostend was to take off this Sunday at 7:45 p.m. While waiting for more than an hour on board the aircraft, the 200 Belgian passengers received a totally unexpected message from TUI: the trip will not take place. The reason ? The maximum number of crew hours had been reached after a delay.
Like everyone else, Geert and his wife were stranded at Las Palmas airport. He deplores the situation with HLN: “I find the way people are treated like that appalling (…) Everyone was hungry, there was nowhere to find anything. There were people with small children on their hands, who should have been in bed a long time ago… I am self-employed myself, so I can change my schedule a bit. But all these other people have obligations. Unbelievable “.
It was only after 11:15 p.m. that a bus came to pick up the travelers to drop them off at a hotel: “We were trampled into a bus, so to speak, without knowing where they were going to take us. I returned my passport before check-in, but I have no idea who will ultimately pay for this overnight stay”. Geert finally received a new text message from TUI around 2 a.m. telling him that an alternative flight was scheduled for Monday at 10:30 a.m.
Via their spokesperson Piet Demeyere, the airline indicates that “if we cannot provide correct information because the situation is not yet sufficiently clear at this time, it is better not to create confusion” . He also adds that the additional costs will not be borne by the passengers.