The 176 passengers of the 11.35pm Ryanair flight that was due to depart for Palermo but was cancelled around 3am after being postponed to 2.30am spent the night at the airport in Cagliari: the crew was not there.

"First they told us there was a bad weather problem," says one of the passengers with family and minor children in tow, "then once they had us exit the gate and we were ready to board the plane on the runway we discovered that there were no pilots or flight attendants because, apparently, they had finished their shift which provides for a maximum of so many flight hours. Basically, there was an unmanned plane on the runway and no one had planned for a replacement."

So the passengers began their odyssey at Mario Mameli, assisted by Sogaredyn staff who provided them with camp beds and water. Some families with frail people also agreed to spend the night in a hotel. Others decided to wait for the first available flight to Bologna and then from there reach Palermo. Still others are waiting at the airport to evaluate whether to buy a new flight and leave in the next few days, staying in Sardinia: on the Ryanair website the first availability is for Monday 9th with prices starting from over 270 euros per person.

In the meantime, the passengers have organized themselves in a chat and will probably turn to a lawyer to obtain reimbursements: "We have been abandoned by the company. Only the airport staff provided us with assistance", the passengers conclude, "we have collected the contacts of almost all those present and now we will decide how to proceed and whether to also file a complaint".

(Online Union)

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