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Thousands of British skiers and snowboarders found themselves stranded at the weekend when tour operator TUI, Britain’s biggest travel firm, cancelled flights to and from the French airport of Chambery.
Customers of Crystal Ski Holidays, a subsidiary of TUI, were stuck in France for over 24 hours when TUI cancelled at least 10 flights from Chambery on Saturday, while others in the UK were unable to take off to begin their holidays.
“We can confirm that a number of customers have been impacted following adverse and changeable weather conditions in Chambery on Saturday 4th January,” said a representative from Crystal.
Despite TUI cancelling or diverting all but one of its flights, other airlines including British Airways and Flybe were able to land planes in Chambery, albeit with delays, much to the frustration of some customers.
Some flights, including some TUI planes and those carrying passengers from other operators such as Inghams, were diverted to either Grenoble or Lyon – a spokesperson on Crystal’s social media said the number of flights that had to be diverted added to the overall disruption.
Chambery airport is a popular choice for ski holiday operators due to its close proximity to a number of Europe’s top ski resorts in the French Alps. However despite its convenience for quick transfers to resorts the small terminal building is not equipped for thousands of people with nowhere else to go.
After arriving at Chambery in the early hours of Saturday, many took to social media to express their concern about the lack of resources in the airport and Crystal’s communication methods throughout the day, especially after the airport’s cafes sold out of food and shut for the night.
Crystal did attempt to organise accommodation for its stranded customers, but there were reports of some of them being told to wait outside the terminal in the cold for a long time. Crystal enlisted the French Red Cross which put up some customers in an emergency temporary shelter in a nearby conference centre, and found others refuge in a local theatre for the night. However, a number of customers took matters into their own hands and booked local hotels independently.
“Customers were being provided with food and drinks and were supported by our Crystal ski reps. We are very sorry for the inconvenience this caused and would like to thank our customers for their cooperation and patience,” said Crystal.
Yesterday most of those stranded in Chambery were transferred to Lyon airport, an hour’s drive away, to catch flights home. For many this was over 24 hours after they were due to travel.
It wasn’t just skiers and snowboarders returning home who were affected. TUI also grounded and eventually cancelled flights from the UK to Chambery.
Passengers in the UK were transferred between airports in an effort to get them out on departing flights. In one such case customers from Exeter, who had been put up in a hotel overnight on Saturday after their flight was cancelled, were transferred by coach to London Gatwick on Sunday to catch flights.
Customers in Manchester, who were due to catch the 6am flight to Chambery on Saturday, were rescheduled onto a flight at 7pm on Sunday, 37 hours after they were due to depart, with over a day lost of their week-long holiday.
Some however just gave up and went home, according to a long line of comments posted on the Crystal’s Facebook page.
What to do if your flight is cancelled due to adverse weather
Bad and unpredictable weather is part and parcel of a ski holiday in the mountains and with the 2019/20 ski season now in full swing it’s worth understanding what travellers are entitled to if flights are delayed or cancelled due to adverse conditions.
“The rules for delays and cancellations are clear. If the delay is over three hours the airline must provide food and drink appropriate to the time of day – this is often in the form of a voucher – and a means of communicating the delay or a refund of the cost of essential calls,” explains The Telegraph’s consumer travel expert Nick Trend.
“For overnight delays, the airline must provide hotel accommodation and transport to reach it. When there’s a major disruption, airline staff may not be able to assist in booking hotels. In such cases, you can make your own arrangements and claim the cost back,” Trend advises.
I was caught up in this weekend’s disruption, what now?
By way of an apology and as a gesture of goodwill for the upset caused, Crystal Ski customers will receive a pro-rata refunds for two days of their total holiday cost. Customers who no longer wished to travel could amend their holiday to any alternative Crystal Ski Holiday with a £50 per person incentive, or if they wanted to cancel they received a full refund of their total holiday cost. Crystal will be contacting all customers impacted and reimbursing them for reasonable out of pocket expenses where they have receipts.
