Cycling legend is breathless – Is there a security problem in Switzerland?: The deletion of the mysterious flight in Switzerland now affects cycling legend Urs Freuler

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The cycling legend was left breathless. “A stranger canceled my plane ticket without my knowledge but in my name,” says Urs Freuler (65) angrily. The Swiss athlete of the year in 1982 and 1983 informed the editorial team about the involuntary cancellation of a Swiss customer’s airline ticket after reading the Blick investigation a few days earlier.

The same thing happened to him. “Plus, it ruined my birthday,” the former professional cyclist adds.

It happened a few weeks ago. Freuler is based in Mallorca; The former world cycling champion occasionally organizes cycling holidays for groups on the Balearic island and has a residence there himself. He wants to celebrate his 65th birthday with his wife Mareile (63) on November 6 and fly home the next day. However, on the evening of November 5, he received a notification that 16.80 francs of Swiss money had been refunded to his credit card. “Out of pure caution,” Freuler checks the Swiss app to see what is going on: “The flight from Mallorca to Zurich was displayed for a very short time and then disappeared.” The same thing happens with his wife’s ticket.

Freuler calls the Swiss helpline. He tells her that his return flight was canceled online. It is not clear when and by whom it was made in the Swiss system. “We did not cancel this flight,” Freuler says angrily. So he spends his birthday on the phone with various Swiss call center workers. In vain: Freuler and his wife suddenly find themselves without a return flight.

Extreme price increase in a few hours

“We could book Swiss flights for the next day, November 6, from Palma to Zurich for 200 francs per person,” explains Freuler. The couple is not making a reservation immediately, but is waiting for a solution from Switzerland. Big mistake! Because when no solution emerges and Freuler wants to book a flight at his own expense a few hours later, it suddenly costs 550 francs per person! For a distance.

A few days later, the Freulers flew back to Zurich on the Spanish airline Vueling. Cost: 300 francs.

Freuler is suspicious: “We bought our return ticket from Switzerland in July for 224 francs per person. Was it canceled on purpose so that we would have to pay for an expensive return flight at short notice?”.

Such an approach would be illegal, and Freuler himself is not convinced that Switzerland would do so: “We fly with Switzerland whenever possible and have already booked eight flights to Mallorca for 2024.” But he was disappointed by the “indifference” shown by Swiss call centers to his concerns. The case is still ongoing.

What’s going on in Switzerland?

Blick knows of other cases; some are complete families! – those who have similarly mysteriously lost their tickets. Considering the increase in cases, is there a security problem?

“We have not noticed an increase in cases of unauthorized or unintentional cancellations,” a Swiss spokesperson explains to Blick.

In addition to the passenger, only Swiss employees or authorized representatives directly involved in the booking and transaction processes have access to the ticket. Freuler guarantees that it does not share data such as ticket number or reservation code with anyone. “No one can act like me except us and the Swiss employees,” he concludes.

However, a conversation with a Swiss toll booth employee disturbs Freuler. She explained to him that there were security vulnerabilities. “He told me that someone could call and explain that Urs Freuler had a serious accident and could not fly home, that he had to cancel the ticket and refund his money, and this was accepted due to the so-called emergency,” he said. says.

Switzerland sees mistakes among passengers

Typically, call center employees need to ask more security questions. What is certain is that cancellation by a stranger will not bring them any direct financial benefit. It remains unclear what the purpose of cancellations granted by foreigners is.

Swiss advises customers to carefully read the relevant ticket conditions and transport regulations. “For example, if someone doesn’t use flight vouchers when booking, the flight may be cancelled,” the spokesperson says. There have also been cases where customers submitted their feedback about a flight via the refund form, thus unintentionally triggering a cancellation despite the knowledge.

Freuler assures us that nothing like this has ever happened to him. This turns out to be another strange case of cancellation in Switzerland.

Source :Blick