A tough Sunday for air passengers in Hungary: Hungarian football fans left behind, plane crash and cancelled flight
It appears that Sunday, 23rd June was a challenging day for air passengers in Hungary. Football fans were left behind due to overbooking, a small plane crashed near Budapest and a flight from Rome was cancelled due to the pilot falling ill. What a tragically eventful day. Here are the details of these three unfortunate incidents.
Football fans left in Budapest
Telex reports that about 200 Hungarian football fans were left stranded on Sunday before Hungary’s match against Scotland. The Eurowings flight to Stuttgart, scheduled to depart at 4.15 pm, was still in Budapest at 7.45 p.m. Some fans, fearing they would miss the kick-off, decided to head home and watch the match from the comfort of their own homes. A reader wrote to Telex:
“When all passengers had boarded by 6.40 p.m., it was announced that there were further problems due to overbooking, causing some to get into heated arguments with the crew and pilots. When this seemed to have been resolved, we were told that we would be further delayed as six bags had been put on the plane that were originally destined for another city, so everyone with checked luggage would have to get off the plane and find their own.”
Plane crash near Budapest
On the same day, Index reported that a 17-year-old girl crashed her glider at Dunakeszi Airport in Hungary and was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries. The glider’s wing was severely damaged, and she suffered multiple skull fractures and severe leg injuries. A family member called the ambulance when the glider was no longer visible. Turbulence is believed to have caused the accident. An ambulance helicopter and firefighters attended the scene, and the girl was taken to hospital on ventilator support.
Rome–Budapest flight cancelled
Telex writes that on Saturday, Wizz Air had to cancel an evening flight from Rome to Budapest because the pilot fell ill. One of their readers shared the unfortunate story. At 11.35 p.m., passengers were notified via text that their Wizz Air flight from Rome to Budapest had been cancelled and rescheduled for 4.00 p.m. the next day. The waiting area was full of distressed passengers, including small children, elderly people and pregnant women.
After a 30-minute wait, they were informed that the cancellation was due to the pilot falling ill. Around 200-220 passengers collected their baggage at 12.56 a.m. and were taken to the check-in section without any drinks or food. They were misled for hours about receiving accommodation, which ultimately did not materialise. Only about 20 passengers, including vulnerable individuals, were eventually accommodated. The rest remained at the airport, awake for 24 hours with only a half-litre bottle of water each and no food, as everything was closed.
Wizz Air was also questioned about the situation. The company has apologised for the inconvenience. In addition, they said that they had helped book accommodation for passengers stranded in Rome. “However, it took longer than usual as nearby hotels were full. There were also some passengers who chose to stay at the airport”. Passengers were given redeemable coupons that they could use to “rebook their ticket for another flight free of charge or the airline would refund them 100 percent of the ticket price or 120 percent of the ticket price in Wizz credits”.
Bad luck with planes in Hungary
It seems people had bad luck with planes in Hungary on Sunday. Some were stuck in Budapest, while others were stuck in Rome wanting to return to Hungary. We can only imagine the frustration of the football fans left behind, missing the victorious match of the national team of Hungary against Scotland. If you missed the match as well, you can read the details HERE.
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