A plane from Tui fly Belgium that would normally fly from Egypt to Zaventem on Monday evening is still grounded on Tuesday evening due to a defect. “Our flight has already been delayed for 24 hours,” an affected passenger tells HLN. As time passes, the tension increases. “Weeping children, weeping mothers, … not to behold.” In the meantime, many passengers do not want to return with the ‘defective’ aircraft, because they fear for their safety.
The flight ‘TUI fly TB 3012’ was scheduled to depart from the tourist resort of Hurghada on Monday evening at 8 pm, to land at Brussels Airport around 0.50 am that same evening.
“Yesterday evening, however, we were told that the flight would no longer depart due to a technical defect,” says passenger Tom Waterschoot. “We were taken to a hotel where we spent the night. This afternoon we were taken back to the airport.”
In the meantime, almost everyone has left here at the airport. It closes at 8 p.m., and we don’t know anything
However, the plane was still not ready to take off today. “According to the new schedule, we would leave on Tuesday at 6 p.m. to land at Brussels Airport around 11 p.m.,” continues Tom Waterschoot. “But in the meantime, almost everyone has left here at the airport. It closes at 8 p.m., and we know nothing.”
Crisis meeting
So it looks like the ‘sample delay’ could extend even further. Tui spokesman Piet Demeyere confirms that there is a technical defect. “A technician was specially flown over from Belgium,” says Demeyere. Tui will hold a crisis meeting on Tuesday evening about the fate of the affected passengers.
In addition to a mandatory extra overnight stay in Egypt, they also received vouchers for something to eat and drink at the airport in Hurghada. But as time passes, the displeasure grows. “There is a lot of frustration because of the lack of communication,” says Tom Waterschoot, who has to take another flight for work tomorrow. “No one from Tui can be seen here, and that is extremely frustrating.”
Tension on the ground is therefore rising, with angry passengers turning against the airport staff. “Weeping children, weeping mothers, … not to behold. Many passengers also refuse to fly back with the same aircraft that has been worked on for hours, but which they cannot get right. Why don’t Tui just put us on another flight?”
Additional leave
“None of us see it positively yet”, another passenger confirms to us via the tip line 4040. “There are families with babies, with several children, … and just arranging extra days of vacation at work is not easy to to get around.”
LOOK. Riots broke out on a Brussels Airlines flight in December when passengers were told just before they arrived in Tenerife that they would fly back to Brussels
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