Flights "canceled"

200 Austrians stranded on their dream vacation

This is no way to relax on vacation - an airline breakdown has now thwarted the plans of numerous Austrians.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/zVg, den-belitsky, stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

Since the weekend, around 200 Austrians have been stranded on the tranquil Sunny Beach in Bulgaria. The return flights with the breakdown airline FlyLili were all canceled and many young families and holidaymakers had to wait in their hotels for more than 48 hours. It was not until Monday afternoon that they returned to Vienna.

The Black Sea coast in Bulgaria is particularly popular with local vacationers again this year. After all, there are countless beautiful beaches there, which are a popular destination, especially at the start of the vacation season.

However, Peter K. from Lower Austria has no sign of relaxation and recuperation. The 55-year-old has been stuck in faraway Burgas with his wife and hundreds of other vacationers from Austria and Germany since Saturday afternoon, waiting for his flight back home.

Peter K.'s fellow sufferers have been sitting in the airport hotel in Burgas for days, hoping for their flight back to Vienna.(Bild: zVg, Krone KREATIV)

They were in the assigned airport hotel for more than 48 hours: "All FlyLili flights were canceled, there were a few rebookings for 450 euros, but even these were quickly overbooked. We were offered return transportation by bus, but I thought that a plane would take off during the 30-hour return journey. Apparently I was wrong," explained the local vacationer with a shrug. 

Mixed mood and little information
In any case, the mood on site was mixed. After the initial anger, a feeling of indifference had already swept over the tour groups. "They already told us at home that we'd better walk, but maybe we'll get a happy message today," was the tenor.

Following an inquiry from the "Krone" newspaper, the Foreign Ministry also confirmed the tricky case: "Apparently the airline is struggling with financial difficulties and that is why numerous nationals are stranded in Bulgaria. We are currently in contact with 80 citizens. One Austrian woman already needed medication and was treated by us", according to the Vienna Minoritenplatz. However, the Romanian low-cost airline was naturally unavailable for comment. 

The Romanian breakdown airline FlyLili could not be reached for comment.(Bild: FlyLili)

Coach to the airport arrives late
There was finally a ray of hope for the Austrians on Monday morning: a coach was supposed to take the hotel guests to the airport, but it also arrived an hour late. Bewilderment spread.

Eventually, however, the stranded guests made it home. On Monday afternoon, they landed safely in Vienna-Schwechat on another airline.