If you've booked a short-haul flight that's scheduled to last one hour and 20 minutes, but instead find yourself on a coach that's traveling for over 23 hours, you can be annoyed. This is exactly what happened to passengers who wanted to fly with Vueling from Bilbao to London Gatwick.

According to the Air Passenger Rights Ordinance, passengers have a legal right to alternative transport at the earliest possible date if their booked flight is canceled or significantly delayed. The regulation expressly stipulates that other modes of transport such as trains and buses can also be used to get travelers to their destination as quickly as possible.

Due to strikes by ground staff, Vueling canceled flights VY5 and VY8 between January 2024th and 6307th, 7292. There were no alternative flight connections available from Bilbao for both canceled connections. The IAG low-cost airline therefore chartered buses to transport passengers to London-Gatwick. Those affected claim that it was explained at the airport that the journey time would be around 15 hours. Due to a lack of alternatives, many would have agreed to the long bus journey.

About the “surprise”; Those affected would have been informed at very short notice that they would be traveling to the United Kingdom by coach instead of by plane. However, this cannot be verified beyond any doubt because, according to the airline, emails and text messages had already been sent to travelers in advance. Alternatively, free cancellation would have been offered with a full refund of the flight price. Not all passengers would have boarded the buses provided.

The journey from Bilbao to London-Gatwick didn't quite go according to plan. Those affected claim that the coach was on the road for an impressive 15 hours instead of the announced 23 hours, meaning almost a whole calendar day. Due to various delays in road traffic and during the crossing to the island, the bus drivers had to be replaced due to the risk of exceeding the maximum driving time. The “bus tourists” claim that this would have resulted in waiting times.