The young couple had to spend € 620 on an 11-hour Ryanair flight after the trip to Aer Lingus was canceled and was at risk of losing a € 2,500 holiday package to Portugal.
On the day the flight was canceled, Aer Lingus offered a couple seats on another flight … Departing 6 days later.
Los Common-born engineer Austin Kielty (26) and teacher Megan Bilbow (24) traveled to Dublin Airport for three hours on Sunday, lining up from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm, and then Faro at 7:00 pm I received a text message stating that there was a flight to go. was canceled.
“We were really looking forward to the vacation,” said Kielti. Irish Independent..
“As soon as I went to check in my bag at the drop-in, I was informed that it was too late to check in. The flight wasn’t until 7pm, but I found something wrong.
“We asked an Aer Lingus employee, he said he would join the line.”
The couple observed other Aer Lingus passengers flying to other destinations leaving the line when their flight was cancelled.
“It was ours that we asked,” Kielti recalled. “The Aer Lingus staff said no. “
By 4:30 pm, “only a few people were left in line” and the couple was told that the flight had been cancelled.
“We were told to go check-in, and we were able to stay at the hotel until the flight was arranged.”
However, the couple knew that they were at risk of losing a € 2,500 vacation at Albufeira on the Algarve coast of Portugal. In addition, they both booked a week’s vacation.
So they tried to board another plane, and also in Algarve, at 8:30 pm, found a plane to Faro with Ryanair.
“The Aer Lingus flight was booked the next day,” said Kielti.
“I saw Ryanair, and they had a plane to Faro that was still available at 8:30 pm.
“Both of us cost 620 euros, but we didn’t want to lose our luggage, move around, or waste our week off.
“We literally ran to Terminal 1. When we entered the queue, we received a text from Aer Lingus that a flight to Faro was available on Friday, July 1, almost a week after our first flight. ..
“If you wait 6 days, you’ll lose your luggage. That wouldn’t have worked. We had to take it over to our packaging, otherwise it’s gone.”
The couple made a flight on Ryanair and finally arrived at the hotel at 2:30 am.
They are happy to take a vacation, but are worried that they may not be able to get a refund because they couldn’t wait almost a week to take a replacement flight on an Aer Lingus flight.
“I’m worried that Aer Lingus will offer us a new flight six days later and they won’t refund us,” Kielti said.
“But I should have known about cancellation earlier, so I hope it isn’t.
“A member of the staff should have contacted us before embarking on a long journey from Roscommon to Dublin Airport and lining up for hours.
“I paid 100 euros to park at Dublin Airport. I would have lost that too.
“We and the other passengers provided more communication from Aer Lingus. It was worth more than the text that was too late.
“Aer Lingus has postponed us to travel with them again.
“I think we need a refund for that flight. It wasn’t our fault that it was canceled, and when Aer Lingus was able to offer an alternative flight almost a week later, people could arrange their lives. lose.
“We both took a break from work. We’re going back on Sunday and I’m really happy to be here … but it’s a whirlwind and we arrive at the hotel until 2:30 am did not.
“We have a great vacation, but we shouldn’t have started this way, and we were fortunate to have another flight available.”
When contacted by Irish Independent In a comment, Aer Lingus said it was aiming to “re-contain confused passengers with the next available alternative service” and apologized to customers affected by the cancellation last weekend. The cancellation was due to a combination of air traffic control strikes, “ongoing problems at the airport,” and a surge in Covid cases among staff.