Several passengers are stacked in front of the counter where flights to Ibiza or Menorca depart for information. It’s a recurring scene these days at Palma airport on routes managed by Air Nostrum, the company responsible for the majority of inter-island routes in the Balearic Islands.
Over the weekend, the company experienced cancellations and delays.. A total of eight company flights were suspended on Saturday, and eleven aircraft failed to fly between the islands on Sunday, according to data from Air Nostrum.
Passengers scheduled to travel from Mallorca to Ibiza on Sunday night looked closely at airport screens to check with displeasure that their flight had been canceled or delayed. Among them were several sports teams made up of children returning from competitions in the Balearic capital.
“It is cancelled!” Many cried out in front of the Son Sant Joan screen. The screen just below the Palma-Maó flight cancellation was showing delays on several flights from Palma to Ibiza.
Lack of information
Due to the lack of information and impatience given by the airline’s ground staff, some of these passengers were grounded in front of the boarding gate assigned to their flight, demanding clarification.
Company staff assured that they were not aware of the reasons for the delay, but explained to the passengers that the plane tasked with taking them to Ibiza must first go to Menorca, return from this island, and then make its route. Es Codos. .
According to one passenger, this particular flight was scheduled to depart at 21:30 and finally departed Mallorca at 12:30. Faced with this situation, several people agreed to delay boarding so that the three-hour delay was met and Air Nostrum had to pay compensation. “It’s not fair for them to get away with paying us compensation for 5 minutes”One of the passengers explained.
Many of them had been relocated on the flight after the previous flight, scheduled for 6pm, was cancelled. “I went to Can Pastilla to drink Coca Cola and came back, what was I going to do here all this time,” said another of those affected. “And they didn’t even give us a ticket to buy something to eat that they were supposed to give you.”
While waiting, another passenger informed his companions that when he arrived in Ibiza, he still had to travel to Formentera and had already lost his ticket. ferry “I’ll have to buy another one for 40 euros,” he complained.
Monday more delay
On Monday morning, Son Sant Joan airport was once again the scene of cancellations and delays. In this case, it was the passengers of one of the flights to Menorca who had to wait for the plane to depart and return to Ibiza before heading to Menorca airport.
In this case, passengers bought a six-euro ticket from Air Nostrum for food and beverage costs.
A few of the passengers whose flight to Ibiza was scheduled at 11:30 am left two hours late and asked the Iberia crew for the page to request. The flight was delayed, this time due to a pilot strike.
Bad weather and malfunctions
The company reported that the weekend delays were not related to the strike of the pilots, but to malfunctions in two of the fleet’s aircraft. Something approved by the pilots union (Sepla).
On Saturday, the crew of one of the flights attributed many of the incidents to the storm that erupted on the islands.
Indefinite strike begins this Tuesday
Air Nostrum pilots have called for an indefinite strike starting this Tuesday, after two days a week, Monday and Friday, have been suspended since February 27.
They regretted the minimum services set by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda from the pilots union. 90% for inter-island flights, 65% for peninsula flights.
Source: Informacion
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