Bulgaria: Passengers refused to get off a Plane that landed in Varna instead of Sofia

Incidents | May 29, 2023, Monday // 17:22| views

@varna-airport.bg

Passengers barricaded themselves in a plane of a low-cost company, which landed in Varna instead of Sofia Airport without notifying them in advance.

The case is from Friday and it became clear after videos circulated on social networks today.

According to the information of the traveling Bulgarian citizens, the plane took off 3 hours late from Abu Dhabi. Minutes before landing, the passengers were informed that they were landing in Varna.

Lidiya Dimitrova, who is one of the passengers who filmed the videos, told the National Television that they reacted in such a way because "this is another mockery of this airline company towards Bulgarian passengers".

In the videos, it is clear that the group that refuses to get off is about 10 people. There were also children on the plane.

Dimitrova blames the airline company "WizzAir", which landed at the "wrong airport". The saga began with the delay of the flight for several hours, which led to the impossibility of landing at Sofia Airport due to repairs.

"Although the crew knew, without informing us, they put us on the plane. And 15 minutes before we were to land at Varna airport, instead of Sofia airport, the pilot announced to us that we would land at the wrong airport. 5 buses were ordered, which have to take us all out, which means a lot of us won't be able to go to work or fulfill our commitments. Not only does the airline refuse to cooperate, but border police showed up and gave us 10 minutes to think about whether we should get off voluntarily or they will arrest us and take us off this plane in handcuffs, including the children who are here," says Dimitrova in the video.

According to information from the National Television, in the end the passengers got off voluntarily, accompanied by police officers, but were not arrested. Then they were taken to Sofia by bus.

Dimitrova, along with other passengers, plan to file a civil claim for moral damages.

Deputy Prime Minister Hristo Alexiev ordered an investigation into the reasons that led to the refusal of some passengers to get off the plane at Varna airport.