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When an Air France aircraft experienced technical difficulties in the Caribbean last month, first-class travelers were provided with hotel accommodations while economy class passengers were required to stay overnight at the airport.
On December 9th, Air France flight AF499 was scheduled to make a non-stop trip from St Martin’s Caribbean airport to Paris. However, the Airbus A330 deviated from its intended course and traveled 160 miles southeast to Pointe-a-Pitre airport on Guadeloupe island.
The explanation provided was the necessity to refuel the 22-year-old aircraft due to unfavorable headwinds during the transatlantic journey.
Laura, a passenger from the north of England, shares her experience: “We arrived in Guadeloupe at approximately 6pm and were informed that it would take one hour to refuel. As a result, our estimated arrival time in Paris was delayed by 90 minutes.”
“Eventually, we were notified of a problem with the electronics and an engineer was addressing it.”
“We were stranded on the plane on the runway for five hours. We were only given food and a drink at 10pm.”
The captain notified us that the issue could not be resolved and we would be provided with hotel accommodations for the night.
“At approximately 11pm, the business-class passengers were allowed to exit the aircraft while the remaining passengers were held back. The rest of us were then directed to hotels, while those who stayed at the airport were provided with cots and water bottles.”
According to European regulations for air passengers’ rights, Air France was obligated to offer accommodations to travelers if there was an overnight delay.
Although the airline claims that there were not enough rooms available on the island for all the stranded passengers, some travelers argue that hotels had vacancies. These individuals ended up booking and paying for their own accommodations.
“I, myself, did not,” stated Laura. “Being a solitary female traveler with no familiarity of the island, I did not want to take the chance of putting myself in a potentially dangerous situation.”
Several employees were present in the terminal, but quickly departed, leaving the passengers to fend for themselves throughout the night.
Laura stated that there were individuals who were senior citizens or had young children, and they were all without nourishment, updates, and proper sleeping arrangements.
The next morning, the breakfast items served during the flight were removed from the plane and distributed to the passengers.
The flight departed after a delay of approximately 24 hours, resulting in missed connections at Paris Charles de Gaulle.
An Air France representative stated that the staff at Pointe-a-Pitre airport were presented with an unforeseen amount of passengers requiring aid due to the cancellation of the Air France flight.
In order to handle the situation, they made every effort to secure lodging for all the passengers on the flight. After arranging hotel accommodations for those in need and vulnerable passengers, the remaining limited number of rooms were given to some business-class passengers.
Laura responded to The Independent, saying that she spent the night conversing with an elderly couple. She had to assist one of them in walking off the plane and bought them a hot chocolate the next morning because they needed care. Laura believes they should have been provided with accommodation.
If passengers are not offered hotel accommodations, they are not entitled to demand compensation for the failure, unless they have personally found and paid for lodging, in which case they can be reimbursed for the expense.
Laura stated: “I hope that Air France will implement measures to prevent this from occurring in the future.”
Source: independent.co.uk
