The Airbus A340-300, registration HB-JMD, operated by Edelweiss Air, is grounded at Phuket Airport in Thailand. The four-radiator has a technical defect that needs to be fixed for safety reasons.

This machine was actually supposed to fly from Thailand to Zurich on Thursday as WK51. However, this did not happen, because said Airbus A340-300 is said to have suffered unspecified damage during the outward flight. For security reasons it is necessary that this is fixed before the next start. This requires one thing in particular: time.

The matter is quite unpleasant for the passengers concerned, because flight WK51 had to be cancelled. Due to the fact that flight connections from competitors to Switzerland and Europe are very heavily booked, the idea of ​​many travelers that they can be quickly rebooked on other flights is more of an illusion. According to local media reports, a “short-term replacement flight” is not to be expected and rebooking to other carriers should not be possible before Monday or Tuesday, at least not for all passengers, as only very few seats are available on flights operated by competitors.