Sandra Czaranecka, 33, was due to fly to Poland from Luton Airport but was delayed and claims the airline gave out only chocolate as sustenance as they awaited the next flight
A passenger flying home to visit family suffered “22 hours of absolute horror” when she was stranded at an airport for nearly a whole day.
Sandra Czaranecka was flying from Luton Airport to visit family in Warsaw, Poland, in December, when her flight was delayed thanks to strong winds. The 33-year-old did not manage to board her Wizz Air flight until 22 hours later and claims the airline handed out only a couple of chocolate bars to sustain people.
Sandra paid £200 for a hotel and meals, and claims some people had to make do with only the snacks because they could not afford anything else. Sandra said: “It was 22 hours of absolute horror.
“I just don’t think it’s fair because even if you cancel the flight at the last minute you need to provide people with some basic essentials. They gave us a chocolate bar and then they gave us something from the trolley which was another sort of chocolate bar and that was it.
“Only two snacks within 24 hours. I think that’s absolutely ridiculous. It’s just common decency and duty of care. We got on board no problem and then they told us the wind was too strong to fly. Everyone was quite understanding because we knew there were weather issues so we were expecting that there might be delays or cancellations.
“They just left us stranded at the airport. I literally had a panic attack. I was so tired at this stage. I didn’t know what to do.
“There was no one from Wizz Air to advise on anything. They kicked us out so late there were no more hotels left. When I tried to book a hotel the website crashed via the link they sent.”
Wizz Air confirmed flights were disrupted due to adverse weather conditions and owing to multiple flight cancellations “’securing hotel accommodation for customers was more difficult than usual”. The airline added it provided chocolate and water, and ‘fulfilled [its] obligations to passengers’, and said customers were able to reclaim their expenses.
Sandra added: “People were literally exhausted. I’ve been flying for 11 years all around the world and I’ve never seen something like that. It was shocking.
“They left mothers with kids, people who are really vulnerable on the airport floor. Fend for yourself. People didn’t even have chargers. People were giving each other chargers. It was ridiculous. I’ve never seen something like that in my life.
“We started finding out people’s stories and some people slept there on the floor and one girl slept in the prayer room. One lady had no money so she hadn’t eaten during that time.”
A Wizz Air spokesperson said: “As a result of multiple flight cancellations, securing hotel accommodation for customers was more difficult than usual. However, Wizz Air fulfilled all its obligations to passengers by providing food, accommodation and transfers.
“As per current EC261 regulations, Wizz Air is not obliged to provide further compensation if the cancellation is due to extraordinary circumstances beyond reasonable control, including extreme weather. Details of these circumstances are available on the Wizz Air website.
“Any customers unable to source accommodation directly through the airline’s partners were reimbursed for bookings made themselves, which was the case for the customer in question. We apologise for the inconvenience this may have caused any of our passengers during this period, and stress that the safety of our passengers, crew and aircraft is our utmost priority.”
