Hungarian passengers stranded in Barcelona due to extreme weather

Hungarian passengers who wanted to return to Hungary on Monday night were stranded in Barcelona. One passenger said Wizz Air had acted unfairly, while the airline said it had done everything it could.

Hungarian passengers stuck in Barcelona

Wizz Air passengers received a text message about the delay of the Monday night flight from Barcelona to Budapest during the day. The flight was eventually cancelled shortly after midnight, but according to an Index reader who wanted to travel home, the airline communicated this as if it was still just a delay, and the new schedule would see the flight departing on Tuesday afternoon.  Airport staff were unable to accommodate passengers in hotel rooms even at 1:30 AM, so the Hungarian passengers waited together for the arrangements to be made.

“The airport employee was arrogant and seemed to be out of control, as after three hours of waiting they could not even accommodate one passenger. Wizz Air was not represented locally. People asked whether or not they would get their checked baggage back, but again they received conflicting answers. Eventually, it emerged that the airport had already placed the checked baggage at the baggage claim points, which by then had been going around the deserted airport unattended for hours. Some were with children, many would have been at work the next day, including me,” wrote the Index reader.

The reader added: “Since Wizz Air had all passengers sign a declaration at check-in, we could have guessed that they were not being fair, because instead of telling them that the flight had not even taken off from Budapest, they kept on telling passengers all day and night that there would only be a delay.”

The writer of the letter has no knowledge of the fate of the Hungarians stuck at the airport, as they went to a hotel with their partner at their own expense. “How we will get home is not yet known,” the passenger said, who was still in Spain on Tuesday morning.

Wizz Air’s response

Index wrote to Wizz Air, which sent the following reply:

“On 22 April, due to the exceptional weather situation, the Wizz Air Barcelona-Budapest flight was unable to take off safely on time. The airline informed passengers of the expected delay using the contact details provided when booking the flight, and when it became clear that the aircraft would not be able to take off that day, Wizz Air’s ground handling partner immediately started to organise accommodation for passengers,” the airline told the news portal. Wizz added that the latter took longer than usual due to a local Catalan holiday, which meant that some passengers were only able to check in at night.

In their reply, they also stressed that, in addition to accommodation, the passengers concerned were also offered the possibility of free rebooking, a 100% refund of the purchase price of their ticket or a 120% credit of the original fare in Wizz credit. “And while the incident was not the fault of the airline, Wizz Air apologises to all concerned for the inconvenience and will continue to ensure the safety of its passengers, crew and aircraft,” the Hungarian airline said.

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Featured image: depositphotos.com