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QUEUE MUST BE KIDDING? Passengers stood around for hours following the flight disruption
Holidaymakers experienced airport chaos yesterday due to Ryanairs cabin crew strike.
While customers were told no more cancellations were scheduled, the situation was very different when they arrived at the airport.
Some were forced to queue for hours, while others forked out to fly with a different airline altogether.
Following the disruption, Daily Star Online caught up with some passengers to find out more.
On Tuesday, Ryanair reassured customers that they had contacted those who were to be affected by the strike action.
On Twitter, a spokesperson added: “We expect no further cancellations tomorrow (Wed 25th).”
But despite the airlines statement the day before, flights were halted the following day with little to no warning.
Yesterday, Italian media reports revealed an additional 150 flights were grounded.
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This left hundreds of holidaymakers stressed, with many worrying they would not reach their destinations.
In interviews conducted by the Daily Star Online, one traveller spoke about her experience.
She revealed that she wasnt warned about cancellations until she arrived at the airport.
After queuing for hours, she was notified about the disruption just 10 minutes before the gate was set to close.
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TRAVEL TURMOIL: Customers waited in the airport for hours after their flights were cancelled
The Ryanair customer was travelling from Brindisi to Bologna when she was notified about the disruption.
She recalled: “It was a nightmare especially because no proper information was provided from the beginning.
“I already passed the security checks when I discovered it by chance on the monitors…
“No email from Ryanair received until 8am – the gate was supposed to close at 7.50.”
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Response to the cancellations were equally frustrating for the customer.
“The customer service was awful, Im appalled honestly”
Ryanair customer
She queued for hours, eventually managing to get on a later flight.
Other holidaymakers werent so lucky, with some having to fork out for trips with alternative airlines.
The Ryanair customer added: “When I reached the Ryanair desk there was an endless line and some passengers tried to call directly the Ryanair service but no one answered.
“Luckily I managed to find an alternative solution but many had to opt for buying ticked from different companies in order to come back.
“Many had the car parked at the airport of destination and a different flight was not a viable solution.”
This customer wasnt the only one to feel let down by the airline.
Another traveller told the Daily Star Online that they were stuck at London Stansted for more than eight hours.
They said: “I have been waiting to go back to Italy for a year.
“The customer service was awful, Im appalled honestly.”
Following the travel chaos yesterday, Ryanair apologised to Italian customers.
A spokesperson said: “Ryanair regrets that, due to strike action by some of our cabin crew at a number of Italian bases, we experienced flight disruption in Italy today which led to cancellations.
“Affected customers were contacted by email and text message regarding their flight and given the option of a free transfer on to the next available flight, or a full refund.
“Ryanair sincerely apologises for any disruption and inconvenience to our customers caused by this strike action by a small number of cabin crew in Italy.”
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