Together with her husband, their 2.5-year-old daughter, her goddaughter and her mother, Lisa Sjöblom sat on a Norwegian plane from Arlanda on Saturday night. The sports holiday was to be celebrated in Gran Canaria.
But the sandstorm that pulled in over the area has forced the airport to close - and the plane had to crash on Tenerife.
"Chaos here"According to Lisa Sjöblom, passengers were not allowed to step out of the plane in two and a half hours:
- It was chaos here.
She describes the information from the travel company as inadequate and the mood of the travelers as stated:
- We have not received much info at all, more than that it is extremely difficult with rooms. They suggested a boat to Gran Canaria but the last one had already gone and it was blowing at 20 meters per second so it wouldn't have been so fun.
In the end, the family got hold of a hotel room. When the journey can continue towards the final destination is currently unclear.
- The daughter cries for sun and bath. But the worst was for a little guy who went alone. He was going to his grandmother and grandfather on Gran Canaria, so he has no one here now.
Norwegian: "Working hard"The Norwegian Press Service invites all travelers to keep an eye on their mobile phones, and says that they regularly send information about the situation on SMS. Exactly how many of their customers are affected, they are currently unable to respond to:
- What I can say is that there are a number of canceled departures today that affect several travelers in the Canary Islands. This applies to several airlines because the airport in Gran Canaria is closed, says Andreas Hjörnholm, press officer at Norwegian.
- We work hard to ensure that passengers who are stuck can come home as soon as possible, and to help find accommodation for those in need.
Hjörnholm cannot currently answer whether the airline will replace customers who have been forced to book new accommodation.