help ! daughter stuck in Berlin due to strikes

WLM21

My daughter has just contacted me to say she is stuck in Berlin due to strike action.

She had flown out there last week with RyanAir

There's nobody at the airport to help .. so what's the best way for her to get home to NCL today or tomorrow

Thanks for any advice

eskbanker

Depends on who's striking - airport, ATC, airline, etc?

A quick Google suggests a strike at Berlin airport tomorrow, but if that's affecting today too then if she needs to get back in a hurry then she may need to catch a train to another airport.

Technically the airline is responsible for rearranging flights for her, but Ryanair don't exactly have a good reputation on that front, so her best bet might be to make attempts to contact them online and/or by phone, just to be able to demonstrate that she tried this, and then, assuming lack of success, she should crack on and rebook herself and claim back afterwards.

sheramber

Berlin airport is shwing as operating.

Ryanair flights are showing as operating today to London and Manchester but nothing for Newcastle until Tuesday

Does she have a ticket for today to Newcastle?

WLM21

sheramber said:

Berlin airport is shwing as operating.

Ryanair flights are showing as operating today to London and Manchester but nothing for Newcastle until Tuesday

Does she have a ticket for today to Newcastle?

I told her about flights operating today.
I suggested going to the airport and kicking up a storm ... they'll have to help then. 
Her original return was to Edinburgh tomorrow morning.
She's with two friends and they've decided to book train journeys home to London, then will travel up to newcastle
thanks for your help

eskbanker

WLM21 said:
Her original return was to Edinburgh tomorrow morning.

Probably would have been worth saying that in your OP, as it implied that she was at the airport now, expecting a flight to Newcastle!

WLM21 said:
She's with two friends and they've decided to book train journeys home to London, then will travel up to newcastle

Did she succeed in contacting Ryanair prior to rearranging travel?  There are many war stories on this forum of airlines refusing to stump up for rerouting costs - not necessarily insurmountable but easier if there's clear evidence of the airline being uncontactable....  If the flight isn't going ahead because of airport strike action then there won't be any liability for compensation, but they should cough up for alternative flights to Edinburgh, and choosing trains to Newcastle may complicate things, however sensible and realistic that option seems!

sheramber

So the real story is she has a flight booked for Monday but Berlin airport  have cancelled all flights on Monday due to the strike.

She  does not have booking for today but expects Ryanair to provide one?

the airport closure is not  under Ryanair's control.

Wonka_2

WLM21 said:

I suggested going to the airport and kicking up a storm ... they'll have to help then. 

You think this is the answer ? And this will magically get her a flight ?

It's more likely to make her look foolish and potentially get her arrested

eskbanker

sheramber said:

So the real story is she has a flight booked for Monday but Berlin airport  have cancelled all flights on Monday due to the strike.

She  does not have booking for today but expects Ryanair to provide one?

the airport closure is not  under Ryanair's control.

If Ryanair have cancelled her Monday flight then they're legally obliged to offer her an alternative, even though the root cause isn't within their control, but my strong suspicion is that they won't have proactively done so and will simply have told her to rebook via the app or online, or phone them, putting the ball in her court.  These channels may indeed be difficult to contact, so looking for airline staff at the airport is perhaps understandable if it's close by, although chances are that Ryanair may use local handling agents who may not be in a position to arrange rebooking, and they certainly won't if a 'storm' is being 'kicked up'!

sheramber

https://help.ryanair.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360017824958-Flight-Cancellations

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WLM21

OP here ... thank you for all your replies.

My daughter's friend who actually made the original booking received a call this morning, saying they would have to stay until Wednesday.

However, due to jobs, they thought it would be wise to start looking for alternative plans ASAP assuming it could be even more difficult tomorrow.

They are now on their way home .. a long route certainly, but that's what they decided.

As I am retired, I would have chosen to stay .. but that's another story.

TELLIT01

WLM21 said:

I suggested going to the airport and kicking up a storm ... they'll have to help then. 

That's the last thing she should do.  All that will achieve is p***ing off the staff there and make them less inclined to help.  Be polite, the problem isn't being caused by the people she will see, but they are the people she needs to help her.

In fact, worst case scenario would be the airline banning her from travelling with them at all for being abusive to staff.