An air traffic controller has obliged a Vueling flight from Paris to Ciudad Real airport to divert to Barcelona, leading passengers on board the plane to demonstrate their anger.
It happened when the flight left Paris late, and would have arrived at Ciudad Real at ten past ten. The problem is that the airport officially closes at 10pm, and the controller refused to wait the ten minutes, preferring to transfer the flight to Barcelona.
El Mundo gives news of the diversion which happened last Saturday night. Passengers on board are demanding compensation from Vueling for changing the destination without warning, and for not even offering hotel accommodation for the Saturday night in Barcelona. The airline has offered only to return the ticket price to the more than 100 passengers on board.
Some passengers claim that the plane could have landed at Ciudad Real, and that the problem was that it could not then have taken off for Barcelona which was planned.
Vueling told El Mundo that they asked Ciudad Real to remain open, but the controller, who is employed by AENA, the Spanish Airport Authority, had refused to stay the ten minutes needed.
When the passengers arrived in Barcelona they refused to leave the plane, given they were not offered any accommodation by the airline, and finally they were given a flight to Madrid, which left Barcelona at 2am, and from there a coach was laid on to take them to Ciudad Real where they arrived at 6,30am, more than nine hours late.
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