The plane, which was redirected from Vilnius Airport to Kaunas, had no one to receive it, passengers were not allowed to leave the aircraft for several hours, and several people simply jumped out of the plane, tired of waiting, Lithuanian media reports.
It is reported that on the night of November 11, planes were unable to land at Vilnius Airport due to its closure and were redirected to Kaunas.
Ermita Gedute, who was flying from Tenerife to Vilnius, shared the details of the ordeal on social media. According to her, the flight was operated by Avion Express, and the plane was supposed to land at Vilnius Airport. Just as the landing was about to happen, the plane suddenly shot up sharply. After that, the flight attendant quietly announced, "Everything is fine. Due to thick fog, the landing was unsuccessful. We will try again."
The plane circled over the airport for a while, and then passengers were informed that there would be no second landing attempt in Vilnius, as the airport was closing "due to lost balloons," and the aircraft was redirected to Kaunas.
According to Gedute, the plane eventually landed at Kaunas Airport, but no one was waiting for it there. "Hungry and tired, we land in Kaunas. It’s dark and quiet around. Even the air felt tense," she shared. The woman also relayed the pilot's words after landing: "It seems that Kaunas Airport is not waiting for us. It is also closed. All staff have already gone home. We cannot leave the plane."
"Finally, two guys set up a metal staircase for disembarkation. For a moment, it seems that everything is resolved. But not for us. The staircase can only be used by the crew that arrived from Vilnius, who are supposed to head to Tenerife, while we have to continue waiting," recalled a passenger. During the wait, two people decided to leave the parked plane on their own. According to a witness to the incident, they climbed out through the door that was open for the pilots.
After some time, passengers were informed that fuel had been obtained, so the plane was flying back to Vilnius. A minute later, a new message followed: "We are not allowed to take off until the escaped passengers are found. The police are already looking for them." In the end, the future of the 200 people locked in the plane depended on two escaped passengers. "The flight attendants handed out the last three bottles of water. There was fatigue and an understanding of the absurdity of the situation in their eyes," Gedute recalls the night’s adventures. Finally, permission was granted to exit the plane. Some called taxis to go home, while others stayed at the airport until morning to wait for their luggage.
The company "Lithuanian Airports" (LTOU) noted that the responsibility for receiving passengers at Kaunas Airport (as well as at other airports) lies with the company Litcargus, which makes decisions about disembarking or not disembarking passengers, as well as about additional actions. Commenting on the situation regarding the passengers who left the plane, LTOU stated that Lithuanian airports, together with the police, are currently conducting an investigation.
Litcargus commented on the incident: "In the case of an unforeseen situation, when planes were redirected to Kaunas due to weather conditions and air traffic restrictions in Vilnius, we did not have enough staff necessary for disembarking passengers and unloading luggage."
Leave a comment