"Disappointed by AUA"

Flight Canceled: Young Soccer Players Stranded for Two Days

Group photo in Gothenburg: Despite the turbulence, the LAZ Stockerau is proud of its trip to Sweden.(Bild: zVg)

A large soccer delegation from Stockerau (Lower Austria) and a team from Upper Austria had to spend a few more days in Sweden than originally planned. The reason was a flight back to Vienna that was canceled without a replacement. This marked the beginning of an odyssey lasting more than two days for dozens of children. 

The Gothenburg adventure was supposed to end on Sunday at 2:50 p.m. for numerous young soccer players aged eight to twelve from LAZ Stockerau (Lower Austria). After several days of competing in the Gothia Cup—one of the world’s largest youth tournaments, featuring nearly 2,000 teams from 77 nations—their return flight from Sweden had been scheduled for that time. Or so it should have been, but on Sunday morning they were suddenly told: “Your flight has been canceled without a replacement.” Fifty-seven children, parents, and coaches were stranded in Sweden. 

Thanks to a Swedish family, the group even managed to get into a large stadium.(Bild: zVg)

Hotel rooms had to be booked on short notice
Athletics coach Stefan Krückl described what happened next to the “Krone.” One of the chaperones, LAZ director Alfred Denninger, headed to the airport to find out when and how a return flight might be possible. Meanwhile, the remaining chaperones and parents tried to secure various hotel rooms through well-known booking platforms. It was a Herculean task, considering the size of the group and the different family configurations. They didn’t know how many days they would need a hotel for. “We didn’t even know if AUA would cover the costs at all,” said Krückl.

Group photo in Gothenburg: Despite the turbulence, the LAZ Stockerau is proud of its trip to Sweden.(Bild: zVg)

We want to draw attention to these issues and demand a sincere apology and appropriate compensation from the company.

LAZ-Leiter Alfred Denninger

Chaos in Communication and Organization
Alfred Denninger spent nine hours at the airport, spoke with flight attendants, asked the Austrian Embassy for help, and called AUA officials from there. Denninger documented the events in a report: After 30 minutes on hold, he was transferred to another hold; it was not possible to process the group booking via the Austrian app. People are particularly disappointed with the ground staff, who, according to those affected, were of no help whatsoever. Some parents received booking information earlier than others, and the chaos was complete. On Sunday evening, they were finally told that the return flight with Eurowings via Berlin to Vienna would take place on Tuesday afternoon. 

Please wait: There were further delays on the return flight with Eurowings as well.(Bild: zVg)

Swedish family put a smile on the children’s faces
On Sunday, the group discovered that flight delays, such as those in Gothenburg, always offer a few rays of hope and opportunities to meet new people. In the evening, the chaperones headed to a pub, while the children were allowed to watch the World Cup final at the hotel. A Swedish family from Stockholm had also traveled to Gothenburg for their son’s soccer game and, on the spot, offered the team plenty of free tickets and discounted tickets for the game at the pub. An unexpected trip to the stadium that cheered up the children. 

Since, unfortunately, a replacement plane could not be arranged in time, we had to cancel both flights.

Stellungnahme der Austrian Airlines auf „Krone“-Anfrage

People from Upper Austria also felt let down
Tuesday was the day: The Eurowings plane was ready for departure at 2:30 p.m. But the airline said the flight was overbooked. Once again, the group from Stockerau worried about whether they would finally be able to bring all the children and their families home together. It all ended well: Shortly after 6 p.m., the ordeal came to an end when the plane landed on the runway at Schwechat. Interestingly, a soccer team from Upper Austria also got stranded in Gothenburg. Children and a wheelchair user were among those affected as well. According to a report obtained by the “Krone,” this group also felt “let down by the airline.”

“We Want a Sincere Apology”
On Wednesday, the “Krone” once again reached out to LAZ officials. All the children were reported to be healthy and had been successfully brought home. But all’s well that ends well? Not quite, because, according to Stefan Krückl, they want to draw attention to the “shortcomings of AUA.” They want a sincere apology from the company and appropriate compensation. It is unclear whether that will happen. AUA told the “Krone” that the passengers had been rebooked to their final destinations in a timely manner. They expressed regret that the passengers had experienced a delayed departure.