Odyssey, last night, for about 150 passengers who departed from Bari and Milan for Alghero, but landed at Elmas airport in Cagliari due to fog.
One of the travellers, Roberto P. , told L'Unione Sarda.it about the mishap: «My wife, my daughter and I arrived in Elmas, with 150 other passengers on Ryanair flights Bari-Alghero FR4073, and Milan-Alghero, which should have landed at the Riviera del Corallo around 10.30 pm on 27 December, but were diverted to Elmas due to fog».
«Once we landed – continues Roberto -, only by asking around they told us to wait in front of the exit, because they were organizing buses . After an hour, there was suddenly a stampede, as buses had been spotted in the distance in the square. We didn't make it in time, the 3 buses filled up immediately, and 150 of us were left on the ground, including children and the elderly . I singled out an airport "manager", wearing a yellow bib, dazed, who told us he didn't know how many buses would be found. So I discovered that there is a company in Bergamo that deals with these transports, and he has to wait for news». During the night, the story of the misadventure continues minute by minute: «There are no drivers to be found, it seems that two coaches and two minibuses will arrive from Alghero, around 3 in the night, then it will take another 4 hours to get to Alghero, so perhaps at 7 in the morning. But we don't know if there will be room for everyone. We turned to the airport police, who can do little. I've heard phrases like "what do you expect from low cost"».
Waiting for the passengers left on the ground becomes unnerving: « All the bars are closed, there are no charging points in operation - continues Roberto - and to get some water the manager said he can take us to the machine in the offices. In all of this, there is no Ryanair representative. And since these are weather events, the company is not required to make any reimbursement ».
If there are no buses, one thinks of taxis : "At a certain point the person in charge said that there were taxi drivers willing to take them to Alghero at a rate of 400 euros, which would be refunded the next day ".
In short, a trip to forget: "There was a climate of resignation among the staff, but it is absurd that there is no better organization for these emergencies ", concludes Roberto.
(Unioneonline/lf)
