More than 100 passengers who were supposed to arrive at the airport in Podgorica two days ago from Berlin on a Ryanair plane arrived in the capital a day later, early yesterday, by bus from Zadar.
Moreover, 150 passengers from Podgorica who were supposed to travel to the German capital on the same plane on Thursday did so only late last night, that is, 24 hours later than planned.
According to the regular flight schedule, the "Rajaner" plane was supposed to land from Berlin to Podgorica on Thursday afternoon, after that it would take passengers and return to Germany at 19:XNUMX.
However, the passengers told "Vijesta" that the "Rajaner" pilot decided on Thursday afternoon to divert the flight to Croatia, that is, not to land at our airport.
"On Thursday, we waited until 22 pm at the airport in Golubovci to fly to Berlin. "Ryaner's" plane was supposed to take off at 19:XNUMX for Berlin", said one of the outraged passengers.
He added that they were then told that the plane to Berlin would be yesterday morning at 10.30:17 a.m., that the appointment would be postponed first to 19 p.m. and then to XNUMX p.m.
He said that he had given up the trip to Berlin and that he and several other passengers would ask to be reimbursed for the tickets and accommodation they had booked and paid for in Germany.
"The ticket to Berlin cost 50 euros, and I intended to be there from Thursday evening to Sunday morning. I paid 140 euros for accommodation. I gave up on the trip," he told "Vijesta".
Some passengers gave up, others waited patiently (archive)The spokeswoman for the Airport of Montenegro, Milica Babić, told "Vijesta" that the company "Rajaner" decided on Thursday to divert the flight to Zadar and disembark the passengers in Croatia.
"After that, the 'Rajaner's' plane landed at the airport in Golubovci from Zadar empty, and then flew to London," said Babić.
On Thursday, the airport was open for traffic all day and planes were operating normally, after the day before, due to snowfall, the airport was closed from early morning until 19 pm.
From the airport in Zadar, it was announced to "Vijesti" that at the request of the "Rajaner" staff, on Thursday, after the landing of their plane from Berlin, they organized bus transportation for the passengers from that city to Podgorica.
"We organized three buses to Podgorica at the expense of 'Rajaner'," said the information service of the Zadar airport.
There are 470 kilometers from Zadar to Podgorica.
The Irish low-cost airline did not respond to "Vijesta" questions about the reasons for this situation.
The rights of passengers in these cases are regulated by the Law on Obligations and Fundamentals of Ownership-Legal Relations in Air Transport.
The law stipulates that travel complaints must first be submitted to the airline or, in certain cases, to the airport management.
If they do not respond within 30 days, the passenger has the right to contact the Civil Aviation Agency. Passengers have the right to material compensation, which, depending on the length of the flight, can amount from 250 to 600 euros.
Exasperated passengers: Now I don't know where I'll get to
Passengers who were waiting to board a flight to Berlin last night were offered a bus ride from Podgorica to Zadar on the first evening.
"That was after it was clear that there would be no flight on Thursday evening, some passengers accepted to be transported there. However, after I told them that I wasn't going to go and asked them if they knew that it was almost 500 kilometers to get there, they gave up," the interlocutor told "Vijesta".
This man from Podgorica planned to visit his son in the German capital, stay with him for two days and then continue to Iceland, where his other son is.
"Now I don't know where I will arrive," he said before boarding. According to the passengers, on Thursday afternoon they went through passport control and checked in. However, despite this, they were made to wait at the airport until 22 p.m.
"They provided accommodation for travelers who are not from Podgorica. Today we received vouchers so we could buy something to eat and drink," said one of the passengers.
She pointed out that yesterday morning before ten o'clock they were in Golubovci, waiting for the 10.30:XNUMX flight, but that the uncertainty lasted for hours.
While the "Vijesti" journalist was at the airport, the passengers were informed that a plane had been sent for them from Baden, and then that it had left from Rome.
"It is not clear to us what is happening, on Thursday we followed the plane through the application, it was close to Podgorica, and then it suddenly changed its course to Zadar", said the passenger.
The clerk at the "Rajaner" checkpoint in Golubovci could not explain why the plane was waiting so long.
Bonus video:
