Therese Cronelöv was supposed to get married at home in Sweden on Saturday. There was only one problem – the bride herself was on strike in Spain.
Less than 20 minutes ago
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When VG talks to Cronelöv on Sunday night, she has not yet returned home from what should have been a two-week holiday in Spain.
The holiday began as a family trip with a friend, their boyfriends and children. After a week, the men went home, without any problems. The friends were to be left for another week in the Spanish sun, with return tickets on Wednesday 6 July.
When the SAS strike became a fact, unrest began to register with Cronelöv. She boarded her flight with SAS, and as feared, it was stated that there was a danger of cancellation.
The friends had not received any notification of this, neither from SAS nor the agency the trip had been booked through. Cronelöv called the booking company and said that they had to get home no later than July 9, which was the date of her own wedding.
The agency did not want to change the booking as the flight had not been officially canceled, they said – and in any case there were no trips before the tenth.
– It’s not possible, we have a wedding we have to hold. I’ll be standing there on the ninth, Cronelöv told the agent on the phone.
– I had to call around to all my guests and say that there was no wedding. There are many from the guest list who had to drop out after we changed dates. My brother is not allowed to participate since he is going on holiday.
–New uncertain date
After a series of phone calls and readjustments, the couple will get married on Saturday 16 July, in just six days.
– But we are still in Spain so I do not know if we will get home, Cronelöv says.
The plane that she and the party were to take on Sunday was also canceled and when they tried to find the booking, it was gone. Now the booking agency said that they could no longer help, but that they had to call SAS.
– Then you get very stressed and cursed. Many ugly words came out of our mouths to this agent.
Has the flight been canceled? You are entitled to this:
No contact
– How have you experienced the communication with SAS?
– It is ourselves who have found the flight number to see if the trip has been canceled or not. We have not received any updates on what is happening. That you have to sit on the phone for eight hours just to get to SAS, it’s completely insane.
Press manager Tonje Sund in SAS says on Sunday night that the telephone lines are open, but that there is enormous demand.
– It is difficult to get in touch with us right now, and that is not how it should be. Large numbers of passengers are affected. It’s a wait and we’m really sorry.
More SAS customers respond – watch video:
Flying tomorrow
The party of two adults and four children is scheduled to fly from Alicante to Sweden on Monday, with a stopover in Palma. Only the last of the two aircraft is a SAS aircraft.
– If we get stuck in Palma then I do not know what I do. I’m extremely scared of flying, so if I’m stuck at an airport … Cronelöv is almost horrified by the thought.
The travel party is now sitting in a holiday home in Spain. The landlord of the house has let them live there until they return to Sweden as the house is empty until the beginning of August.
– It’s just to thank the gods for having a roof over our heads. Everyone has been extremely helpful when they have heard my little story, says Cronelöv.
Full war of words: The SAS pilots will not bring more charter tourists home
–Homesickness
Cronelöv has had many extra expenses due to the cancellation. In addition to houses, rental cars and rebookings, she feels that she must go on excursions and shop with the children in order for them to keep their spirits up.
– As a parent, you try to be calm, she says.
– But my oldest daughter is so crazy that she thinks it is incredibly difficult to be away from her dad.
Monday morning at 06 Cronelöv should have been back at work. Fortunately, her boss has shown understanding for the situation.
– My boss is worth his weight in gold. He understands that this is not my fault. None of us can conjure and none of us have our own plane we can take home.
–Tattooed almost the wrong date
A few days ago, before the plane crash started in full swing, Cronelöv should have tattooed a wedding ring with the date of the wedding. When she saw that the plane was in danger of being hit by the strike, she canceled the class.
– I did not dare to gamble on it. Thank God I did not tattoo a date, she says.
– Then I could look at it and think about how much I cursed that day and how angry I was.
She still chose to get a tattoo today – but missed the date.
– If everything goes well, we will be in Sweden on Tuesday night. When I get to meet my cohabitant, we can laugh about it, says Cronelöv.
– And on Saturday we get married.
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