Scenes of absolute chaos at major airports in Europe from the long delays and cancellations of flights of various airlines due to lack of staff, as they did not hire several workers in time.
This was compounded by worker strikes at airlines in some of Europe's most popular tourist destinations which are expected to cause major new problems over the weekend. Britain, Germany, Spain and Belgium are most affected[/I]
Charalambidou: Apathetic, cold, indifferent. Like a third world country
[/P]Victims of such a situation were the six-member delegation of the Parliament who were to participate in the 29th Annual Session of the OSCE CSO in Birmingham. Among them are Cypriot MPs Irini Charalambidou, Kyriakos Hatzigiannis and Christos Seneces.
The delegation departed yesterday with a delay from Larnaca airport with the Lufthansa airline with a stopover in Frankfurt. However, as MP Irini Charalambidou told state radio, the initial delay was the reason for not catching the connecting flight to Birmingham.
"They closed the gate for two minutes and didn't wait for us when it was their fault," Ms Charalambidou said, visibly upset as, as she repeatedly stressed, there was no one from the company to inform them.
Indeed, on top of the inconvenience is... the disappearance of their luggage. "We don't know where our bags are. We were told that we were leaving today and our flight was cancelled today as well. There is no one to talk to. Yesterday for four hours we wandered around, we were thoroughly checked but there was no one from the airline to inform us."
In fact, comparing images from Cyprus airport recently criticised by British media, Ms Charalambidou said that in this case, "People are apathetic, cold, indifferent. It is as if we are in a third world country."
The last information they had, she said, was that there was a possibility that they would depart on the evening flight if that too was not cancelled. She spoke of chaotic situations that she is experiencing for the first time, saying that they are trying to find solutions through agencies in Cyprus.
Meanwhile, in a related post, the MP urges people not to get on the plane so as to actually avoid the inconvenience.
Complaint about travel insurance - fraud
At the same time, Ms. Charalambidou in her statements raised another issue, calling on the Insurance Commissioner to take a stand on the issue of travel insurance. "These are companies, based outside Cyprus, and they are scams. They sell insurance without taking any responsibility for the product they sell."
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
