Cyprus Airways passengers tell of Cairo delay ordeal

A CYPRUS Airways (CY) flight from Cairo arrived at Larnaca airport over eight hours late at 11.20am yesterday, with passengers complaining of being left without food, blankets or information overnight.

Flight CY437 from Cairo – carrying around 100 passengers – was getting ready for its 2.00am take-off airport yesterday, when a warning light came on in the cockpit. The passengers waiting to board were told there was a technical problem, and then spent an uncomfortable night waiting to learn when they might complete their journey.

Passengers mainly complained that they were essentially left in the dark, being told repeatedly that more information would be forthcoming later. Some also said that they went hungry throughout the delay, and that blankets were not made available in the air-conditioned departure lounge.

CY spokesman Kyriakos Kyriakou acknowledged yesterday that it was not clear for some hours whether the technical problem was serious, which resulted in the decision not to send a replacement aircraft from Larnaca and the subsequent long delay.

“These are things that very often no-one can calculate. A specific problem could be solved in thirty minutes, or it could take longer, especially when the aircraft is in a foreign airport and the airline is not based in that particular country”, he said.

Kyriakou said that the passengers were offered breakfast around 4.00am, and that the airline representatives on the spot “made every effort” to deal with the situation. He added that “one hitch came after another”, with the local civil aviation authority delaying departure by a further hour to around 9.00am, by insisting on having its own check carried out.

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