The aircraft has a breakdown, dozens of passengers have been abandoned since dawn this morning in Elmas airport. Camped without assistance or directions. Some of the bathrooms are closed. And there is not even the certainty of the real departure time. Whenever you arrive. Because it was set for 6.50pm. And everyone learned it only from reading the display: no one communicated anything.

The flight to Bergamo should have taken off at 6.45. There are those who have been awake since 4, because passengers have also arrived from Oristano to make that journey.

«According to what we've been told that aircraft has been collecting a series of breakdowns for weeks», explains Aristide Moriconi from the airport's departure hall, «the last one yesterday evening. Yet no one was notified. The replacement of the faulty part», it was said, «arrived via another Ryanair carrier around 12.50, but the technician needs at least another two hours for replacement and testing».

So the departure was rescheduled for 3.30pm. But after 3 pm the gate was still deserted and no one from the company gave any information, much less help.

"Not at all: I tried to figure out what kind of death we should die, one of the Ryanair hostesses on another flight kicked me out in a bad way," says indignant Rosetta Scintu, who arrived late at night from Cabras. With a dance school she was destined to participate in competitions in northern Italy: «Today the one of Matteo, a blind boy of ours, was set: he skipped. It's also his birthday. Beautiful gift".

Has Ryanair dealt with those to whom it has caused very serious inconvenience? «Of course», Scintu jokes, «they gave us a 4 euro voucher for food. It's a pity that the cheapest sandwich costs more than 6. The girls», also dancers, «have bought themselves some sweets. And the mothers also had to add money». Meanwhile, during the nightmare wait that has lasted for 10 hours, they fell asleep on a makeshift bed. They are exhausted. A helping hand came from the employees of Sogaerdyn, the company that deals with handling at the airport: they tried to alleviate the inconvenience as far as they were concerned.

At 15.30 the notice appeared on the screen: we start at 18.50. 12 hours late. Perhaps. «At a certain point», adds Moriconi, «the rumor began to circulate that the flight could be cancelled. A lost day, with no one, either from the company or from the airport, showing up. Absurd".

Henry Fresu

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