The low-cost airline resumed services from Düsseldorf to Sardinia, Italy on Saturday, but was forced to turn around at its destination because Olbia airport is still closed.
Flight EW9844 departed on the 730-mile (1,170 km) flight to Sardinia’s Olbia airport on the morning of May 23, but was in Sardinian airspace before being informed by air traffic control that it was not open to commercial traffic.
The Airbus A320 hung in a waiting pattern waiting for permission to land, but without dice.
This short sightseeing tour of Western Europe, benefiting the loading of the two Sardinian passengers by the A320, took a total of four hours and ten minutes.
So how did this misunderstanding happen? A Eurowings spokesperson told CNN Travel that “In the context of the crown crisis, the situation at many airports in Europe is very dynamic.
“The large amount of information provided about hours of operation or airport closings is often changed in the short term,” added the spokesperson, and there are “daily changes in entry regulations in different countries.”
Olbia Costa Smeralda airport is currently closed until at least June 2.
The Eurowings spokesman blames “a misunderstanding on the consolidation of relevant flight information.”
The passengers, both, rebooked and, it is safe to say, were able to at least socially distance themselves appropriately on their A320 excursion last Saturday morning.
