When we think of airline travel, we think of it as a way to get to our destination. Airports can be stressful, and airlines can be stressful too. From crying kids (either your own or those of other passengers) to tiny bathrooms and coffee that you should think twice before drinking, we really just look forward to the moment we land and collect our luggage.

We’re not scared of flying as some people are. We know that most planes make it to their destinations safely and without even losing any luggage. We pretty much expect that when we book a flight, we’ll arrive around the time the airline promises.

One thing we definitely do not expect when booking airline travel is being stranded at our destination, but that’s exactly what happened to many passengers who booked flights on WOW Air, a budget airline that offered flights from 23 different airports, that is, until Thursday.

Passengers waiting to board WOW Air airplanes were held up in airports, told that their flights had been delayed and later found out that their flights hadn’t just been canceled but that the airline had suddenly, without notice, shut down. Basically, if you booked a flight on WOW Air, you no longer have a way home.

Since WOW Air was a budget airline, they offered flights at low as $50. Now, passengers are finding it difficult to find budget-friendly flights to their destination. One person tweeted, “stranded my sister in Paris with $1,400 being the cheapest one way home… how is that legal?”

A quick Twitter search returns many tweets from justifiably angry and confused customers. One tweet mentions that “I’ve still received no notification from WOW that our return flight to the states is cancelled. Thanks to the many news sources covering the story, we saw the news and booked new flights. Incredibly unethical way to run business.”

Another person wrote, “not only did you cancel my flight with little to no information. On top of it all your customer service number is not even in service. This is looking like you guys been knowing of your company becoming bankrupt, and are leaving customers to figure things out themselves.”

Yet another tweet included this not very helpful information from WOW Air.

WOW Air does not seem to be offering any automatic refund for the canceled flights. They suggest that passengers contact their credit card companies to see if they are eligible for a refund and that they arrange travel through other airlines.

To try to help out stranded passengers, other airlines are stepping in to offer discounts on flights for those affected by the WOW Air flight cancellations. These airlines include Norwegian Air, EasyJet, XL Airways and Wizz Air.

For more about this shocking story, watch the video below.

 

What would you do if you were stranded in another country with no way home? Do you know anyone who is affected by the WOW Air flight cancellations?

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