BODØ (VG) The Constant family from Bodø has not visited their grandparents in Chicago for 16 years. When the suitcases were packed, the crushing message came from SAS.
Less than 30 minutes ago
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Around a small kiosk table in the departure hall at Bodø Airport, a family of four sits quietly behind their respective large American suitcases. The mood is as heavy as the situation would suggest.
The mother and the three teenage children have just been told that the journey to the grandparents in the United States, which they have been waiting for almost the entire lives of the children, is probably going in the sink.
The suitcases are expectantly packed with summer clothes that were to be aired in a small town outside Chicago.
The eldest of the siblings from Bodø, Emma Constant (19), was born in the USA, but has not visited her grandparents there since she was three years old.
–Stopper i Stockholm
The family has bought round-trip tickets Bodø-Bergen-Stockholm-Chicago, and it is the latter route that has now been canceled by SAS.
The flight to Bergen and Stockholm, on the other hand, is currently scheduled.
– But that was not where we wanted, says mother Johanne Constant stated to VG.
The family was on their way by car from infant baptism in Finnmark when the text message from SAS ticked in on Monday.
The mother tried to call the airline right away, and thought that the long distance from the far northeast of the country was not the worst opportunity to wait long for the phone.
But after an hour and a half of waiting music, Johanne lost cover over the plateau. So now she has to start all over again in her attempt to get in touch with the company that is in the hands of the family’s holiday destiny.
–Sympathy
Estimated waiting time on the phone with SAS is 232 minutes when VG meets the family on Tuesday morning. Not that mother Johanne has so much else on the program, now that the next three holiday weeks are abruptly ribbed, with no plans.
– I have sympathy for the pilots, and I understand the frustration of both parties in the conflict. But it feels awkward to end up in the middle, says the stepmother to VG in Bodø.
– But mom, can we not complain and fuss really long, then they give up in the end ?, it comes optimistically from the 13-year-old.
– There is no one from SAS here, the mother answers the son.
She has already been round and checked at the airport, and the closest she came was a person from Widerøe. VG has spoken with SAS, which states that Widerøe Ground Handling represents the company on the ground at most airports outside Oslo.
–SAS warns
The family trip to the USA has been planned for many years, but when the trip was finally to take place last year, the corona put an end to it all. It felt no less sad when all travel plans collapsed once again this year.
Travelers with the relevant SAS flight who should be thinking of taking their holiday in Stockholm instead, where there are flights after all, have already been warned.
SAS has sent an SMS to the passengers, which VG will see, stating that they do not recommend boarding the plane to Stockholm, because there is a risk of being without a hotel room in the Swedish capital.
– But when I checked Hotels.comthere were many rooms available in the city, says Johanne Constant, and sugar.
Stockholm is not really a relevant holiday destination anyway, says Johanne Constant. These three weeks the flock of four has are sacred. The rest of the year they are tied to work and school. And than such a long journey, there is no point in trying to complete in a short time at another time of year, she tells VG.
SAS: – Just to apologize
SAS explains the text message by saying that hotel capacity in Stockholm was under pressure earlier – even though there are now places left.
– Do you want to apologize for that SMS?
– Yes, because it is not relevant, but it may have been at the time it was sent out, says director of public relations at SAS Knut Morten Johansen to VG.
Johansen says it is sad to hear about the family’s flight trouble, and sighs loudly as VG describes the over 200-minute wait on the phone.
– There are huge volumes of passengers seeking help. It’s just to apologize deeply, he says.
– We have called people back from holiday, we have people who have postponed their holiday, but it does not help to say that when you have cases like this that do not get help.
Johansen says the company has succeeded in rebooking many trips to the USA.
– We see that every single day. We have managed to help many, but it does not help those who have not received help.
40,000 extra
Johanne has already checked what it will cost them to buy new tickets with another company: Around 40,000 kroner.
The overnight stays in the USA have already been paid for, and is money the family will never see again, the mother believes.
– Maybe we should just get in the car and drive to Italy ?, she asks the kids.
If not, it may be the variant from last year.
– None of us really remembered what we did during the holiday last year. But then we checked some pictures and realized that we sat all summer up here in pouring and icy Bodø rain. So who knows, maybe it will be this year too, she smiles resignedly.
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