– I have books, music and an audiobook with me, so I keep my spirits up. Fortunately, there is a nice view out the window, says Helene Vikingstad (23) to Dagbladet.
Vikingstad, who comes from Sola in Rogaland, was visiting a friend in Tromsø over the weekend. Sunday night she was to go home to Bergen.
Blows off the strike
Like many others in Tromsø, Vikingstad also had her plane canceled, as a result of the aircraft technician strike, ten minutes before she was actually to board the plane.
– There were many who were frustrated and abandoned. I received a message that I would be refunded, but that I could not rebook the plane. I also could not get an overnight stay in a hotel or money for food, she says.
It was NRK Troms and Finnmark who first mentioned the case.
– Norway lenghtwise
Vikingstad immediately started looking for more flights from Tromsø to Bergen, but there were no available flights until several days later. In addition, the tickets cost at least four times as much as the plane ticket she had bought for 1200 kroner.
– Angry and frustrated
Therefore, she chose to change both itinerary and means of transport to get home to Bergen. The trip home could therefore continue by bus on Monday morning.
When Dagbladet talks to Vikingstad, she is on the train from Trondheim to Oslo, very close to Støren station. From Oslo, the trip continues to Bergen, where she first arrives at 06.00 on Wednesday morning. Then the trip by transport has taken 43 hours and Vikingstad has been on the road for 60 hours.
– There have been several trains that have been delayed, so I arrive in Bergen later than planned. Fortunately, I have a holiday, so it’s okay to travel over several days, she says.
The airline will take the bills
The journey home, which was supposed to be a flight of a few hours, has turned into three buses and three trains.
– I end up traveling almost all of Norway along, she says.
Nevertheless, Vikingstad is most upset that the price tag on the trip has become three times as expensive as the original price. Now she has paid 3600 kroner for the trip home, which she describes as a significant sum for her as a student.
She tells Dagbladet that several of those who were actually going to travel with her plane also ended up taking the bus to get on.
The holiday saved
Delay after strike
On Tuesday morning, it became known that Minister of Labor Marte Mjøs Persen (Labor Party) has decided forced wage board in the conflict between the aircraft technicians in the Norwegian Aeronautical Engineers Organization (NFO) and the other party in NHO Luftfart. Thus, the aircraft technician strike is over.
Nevertheless, there are still major delays in air traffic. From Tromsø, many flights are fully booked, and prices have risen sharply. Several of the airlines also do not have available departures until the weekend.
As a result of the strike informs both Widerøe and Norwegian that they will continue to struggle with backlogs.