42 passengers did not fly from Katowice to Dortmund, Germany. All because the plane did not wait for people who were stuck in the queue for the security check. The airport apologizes for the situation and announces that it will draw “lessons for the future.”
Mr. Jakub and his family were supposed to fly on Tuesday, November 12, for a trip to Dortmund, Germany, but they did not board. The Ryanair plane from Katowice-Pyrzowice airport did not wait for a group of 42 passengers who were standing in line for the security check.
– I was supposed to fly to Dortmund at 5.45 by Ryanair from the airport in Pyrzowice. There was a huge traffic jam for the security check, there were 11 flights in one hour, so there were about two thousand people waiting for this check. At first there was only one tape open. People were so crowded that even when they were called for passengers flying to Dortmund to pass first, it was not possible. Finally, when we got out of the security check, although it was before the departure time, the gate was already closed – says Mr. Jakub.
42 passengers did not fly to GermanyJacob, the reader
Mr. Jakub's family was not the only one among the injured. In this situation, there were a total of 42 passengers on Ryanair flight number FR 6892.
“No one offered help, and it was not our fault we didn't fly.”
– First, we asked to simply suspend the flight because it was a large group of people. However, no one from security or Ryanair wanted to talk to us. We were informed that we could file a complaint on the airport's website, which of course is a strange situation. 42 people were not late because someone got up too late, but because the airport did not secure capacity. We were each left alone with our problem. Nobody offered us help, and it was not our fault that we didn't fly, explains the would-be passenger.
“We can't do anything”
The tvn24.pl editorial team received a recording from one of the passengers of the flight in which the response of airport employees can be heard. “We are unable to do anything. You need to describe what time you were at the airport and what time you showed up at the security check,” an employee of the information point informed the passengers. When the tourist asked if we could leave now, she added that the gate was already closed. “If the gate is closed, we can't do anything,” she added.
Ryanair plane at Katowice-Pyrzowice airportJacob, the reader
Long waiting times for security checks
Piotr Adamczyk, spokesman for Katowice Airport, admits that 42 passengers of the flight to Dortmund did not depart due to the long waiting time for the security check in passenger terminal B.
– We are in the process of thoroughly investigating what element failed and what caused a significant drop in security screening capacity during the morning wave of departures. We sincerely apologize for the situation, and we will certainly draw conclusions for the future, says Adamczyk.
The airport asks all passengers who did not fly to Dortmund to submit a written complaint via the form available in the contact tab on the Katowice airport's website.
– We will carefully consider each complaint and we will try to compensate the injured passengers for the inability to fly to German – he adds.
We have also sent an official inquiry to Ryanair and are waiting for a response.
Main photo source: Jacob, the reader