Bjørn Lesund-Skaug and his family are on strike in Samos, nine days overtime. They do not have the opportunity to use the return route that Apollo offers them, because they travel with a national ID card.
Less than 30 minutes ago
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– We’re starting to get really bored. We had actually planned a week here and two weeks in Trondheim, so now the whole holiday is ruined.
Bjørn Lesund-Skaug says to VG on Monday night. He and his family are still on Samos after what was supposed to be a week-long holiday trip. The duration of the trip was doubled after the return flight on July 9 fell victim to the SAS strike.
The trip is booked through Apollo, and Lesund-Skaug says that he has been in contact with the travel company several times, without any particular help.
No relaxation
The extra time on the holiday island is not particularly relaxing, according to Lesund-Skaug’s descriptions.
– We do not get to do that much. We are told to wear the phone all the time then.
He says that the family has started washing clothes in the sink in the bathroom instead of sending the dirty laundry with the hotel’s laundry service.
– To wash clothes at the hotel, we must send the clothes by car. So it’s a bit silly if it does not come back before we have to leave, he says.
At home in Norway, there are several obligations ahead. Lesund-Skaug, who usually works as a driver, is entering his last week of the holiday, and will be at work next Monday. The family’s dog has been delivered to a friend, who is now a dog sitter for the third week.
Do not let in with ID card
Apollo offered the Samos-stranded tourists a return trip via Turkey. According to Lesund-Skaug, the route consisted of a boat from Samos to the mainland, a flight from Izmir to Copenhagen and a bus from Copenhagen to Oslo.
– We were ready to go.
It did not work out, however, as three people in Lesund-Skaug’s travel party only have a Norwegian ID card, and no passport. On the government’s website It says that Norwegians can travel to Turkey with only ID cards, but this does not apply to travelers coming from other countries.
– There are different numbers on passports and ID cards, so Apollo immediately saw that we had ID cards. Then they said that we could not travel on them, says Lesund-Skaug.
Repetitive messages
Lesund-Skaug thinks there have been few messages to get from Apollo.
– It is like the same message every day where they thank us for our patience, which we do not have, he says.
– The only thing they say is that they search with light and lantern for alternative routes home. They say they should get home as many as possible at a time, preferably all. That’s when it takes time.
Lesund-Skaug says that the family receives several suggestions from friends that both Norwegian and Flyr have departures from Athens and home. He believes that it would have been better if Apollo sent some travelers to vacant seats instead of waiting for an entire flight.
–1400 Norwegians in Greece
Apollo has now just under 1400 Norwegian tourists stranded in Greece, of which about 50 of these are on Samos. It writes Beatriz Rivera, communications manager at Apollo, in an email to VG.
She confirms that the strikers on Samos have been offered an alternative return journey via Turkey and that 150 Norwegians and 170 Danes have returned home in this way. Due to Turkey’s passport rules, which require at least six months’ validity, some people cannot take advantage of this.
– While others have said they do not want to because it is a long milking route, Rivera adds.
According to Rivera, those who have booked a package trip with Apollo are entitled to cover both hotels and three meals a day.
Demanding airport
According to Rivera, the airport on Samos is regulated as a C-class airport, which means that special training is required for the pilots who land there. Since the SAS pilots Apollo normally uses for this route have gone on strike, it is demanding to find alternatives.
Rivera says that it is not true that Apollo is waiting to get everyone home at the same time. Due to the requirement for specially certified pilots, the travel company has not succeeded in obtaining a single clean evacuation aircraft. Therefore, they try to evacuate travelers in small groups.
– There are a few vacant airline seats here and there, but we mainly use these to evacuate guests who have urgent medical needs, Rivera says.
– If you add the difficult airport on Samos, it is almost impossible to find flight solutions directly here, therefore we also look at opportunities by boat via other Greek destinations.
Encourages to go by phone
– It is true that we encourage all our stranded guests to bring their mobile phones. This is because it is via SMS that they receive information, including about return travel solutions, Rivera says.
– We often get this confirmed close to departure, regardless of whether it is evacuation aircraft from SAS or own replacement aircraft / alternative flights. As soon as we have a solution ready, we inform our customers.
Rivera recognizes itself in the claim that Apollo only communicates via an almost identical SMS almost every day.
– That’s right. There is not much more we can inform our customers about than just what we know here and now: that we are looking for solutions. We would have liked more concrete information to provide, but until we have a solution in place, there is unfortunately not much more we can say.
After pleading with SAS for evacuation assistance, Apollo employees were overjoyed when the parties agreed to help them, according to Rivera. Unfortunately, the joy was short-lived when the offer was stopped before the remaining 1400 guests returned home.
– I have such an enormous understanding that people are tired, bored, given up and frustrated now. We are it ourselves. There is nothing we want more than to get everyone home as soon as possible, Rivera says.
– Unfortunately, this conflict came at the worst possible time, and trying to resolve the consequences it has had is incredibly difficult. But we do not give up. We work around the clock, we look everywhere and we have to get everyone home. Hopefully soon. And then I sincerely hope both parties now come to a solution so that no more innocent people are affected.
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