They were told this via an e-mail from the airline just before their flight. Some people had even checked in their luggage. Transavia says it will try to get the victims on an alternative flight tomorrow morning, but that will be to another part of the island.
The e-mail states that there are ‘unexpectedly insufficient staff’ ‘to be able to operate the flight’. “We understand that this is very annoying.”
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And yes, that’s what the victims think too, according to their reactions. Such as that of 17-year-old Kiki Tijthoff, who has just graduated and wanted to celebrate with seven girlfriends on Crete. “We have been waiting in line for a long time,” she tells RTL Nieuws. “Then we saw that the flight had been cancelled. You would say that you see such a staff shortage coming in advance. We are now going to Crete tomorrow, but to a different location. We have called our parents, so that they can also We had arranged everything, booked a house, arranged a taxi. It sucks, especially since we now have to pay for the bus to the new place ourselves.”
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utter chaos
Ingrid Baars is also stunned about the late cancellation. “It’s utter chaos here. I was already standing in line at security. I was going to visit my parents in Crete for a week, who live there half of the year. I happened to read that e-mail, otherwise I would have I was standing in that line. There is no one from Transavia here who can provide us with information. Now we just have to wait and see when I can fly.”
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very annoying
A Transavia spokesperson confirms to RTL Nieuws that there are too few crew members to allow the flight to continue. “It is very annoying. I do not know at the moment what the reason is, whether it is due to illness, for example. Our flight has been canceled today, the one from Rotterdam to Faro. It was scheduled around 4 pm this afternoon.”
When asked why the cancellation was so late, the spokesperson answers that the company tries to prevent this in all cases. “But if there really is no other option, we should do it so late. You see this much more in our industry now, of course. There is a shortage of workers across the board.”
Affected travelers are advised to contact Transavia. “Then we will first see if they can take the next flight. And if people say that they would rather have their money back, that is of course also possible.”
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Busy at Schiphol
Even today it is occasionally busy at Schiphol. The airport expects a peak day today because many people return or leave after a long Whitsun weekend.
Many people gather in the departure halls, where Schiphol employees stand every few meters to steer travelers in the right direction. “Due to crowds and shortage of staff, there are longer waiting times. Thank you for your understanding”, they announce. “It really comes in waves,” say two airport employees who guide the groups of travelers in the right direction. According to them, at these busier times it takes about an hour for travelers to get to security and then another hour to get through.
Four hours before departure
Schiphol has established a rule that passengers may not be in the departure hall earlier than four hours before departure. The airport has also been struggling with staff shortages for weeks, including at security and handlers. This causes passengers to end up in long lines.
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