Another ticket cleared: Switzerland left a senior citizen stranded in Tel Aviv when war broke out

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Travelers are surprised when they arrive at the airport: Blick recently reported several cases where passengers’ flight reservations to Switzerland mysteriously disappeared from the system. Some of those affected were only able to get their plane home a few days later and had to book a much more expensive flight.

Now the SRF consumer magazine “Espresso” is reporting about a senior citizen from Bern abandoned by the Swiss in Tel Aviv. The woman was visiting a friend in Israel and had already booked a return ticket to Switzerland. She had planned her return flight for October 7, of all days. The day the radical Islamist group Hamas carried out a terrorist attack on Israel.

The senior citizen, who was happy to be able to leave the country, encountered a big surprise at the airport: “I was told that I was not even on the flight list and that I had to buy a new ticket.” “Espresso”.

Chaos and waiting for days

After the attack on Israel, there was chaos at the airport. The senior citizen stayed with his friend for days, waiting to finally fly home. “You never knew if you were going to sleep in your clothes or if the alarm would go off again,” she says.

He was eventually able to book a flight for October 13 with Israeli airline El Al. Six days after their originally planned flight home. And at a flattering price. Nervously, he had to pay 600 francs for the return flight.

Switzerland did not want to cover additional costs

When the retiree returned home, he contacted Switzerland and explained his situation. The airline later reimbursed him for the costs of his return flight to Switzerland, but did not pay for the newly booked flight or any additional expenses incurred.

Since his request in Switzerland was ignored, he eventually contacted “Espresso”. Lo and behold, Switzerland relented and apologized to the senior citizen. “The mistake was clearly ours,” a Swiss spokesman told the consumer magazine. Switzerland will reimburse the woman for the cost of the newly booked flight and any additional costs incurred. She received a coupon as compensation.

An error in the system caused the woman’s outward flight to be recorded as a so-called “no-show.” The return flight was then automatically canceled. “Such a thing should definitely not happen,” the spokesman continued.

Due to several similar cases recently, Lufthansa’s subsidiary promised Blick an “in-depth analysis” a few days ago. When asked about the current situation, Swiss said: “Our investigation is not yet completed, but we are working intensively on it.” (smt)

Source :Blick