A group of 192 passengers faced an unfortunate turn of events on their journey to Morocco, as they were unable to board their Ryanair flight due to a significant shortage of security personnel at the service provider Sécurus. According to reports from the public news outlet 'Ici', these travelers were scheduled to depart from the French airport of Châlons-Vatry to Marrakech on April 14. However, many staff members were ill on that day, leading to a complete lack of security personnel for baggage handling and departure checks.
Fabrice Pauquet, the airport director, stated, 'When we opened check-in, there was no security team present. We called to ask and learned that all personnel were on sick leave.' Among the disappointed passengers was Pauline from Châlons-en-Champagne, who intended to visit her father in the hospital. Another affected traveler, Hakima, a mother of two, expressed her devastation, having saved for months for this trip and unable to afford another vacation.
The situation regarding potential refunds for the passengers remains unclear. Pauline reached out to Ryanair, only to be informed that no compensation would be available in the event of a strike, despite the fact that this was not a strike. Pauquet clarified that the responsibility for refunds lies with the airline, not the airport. In response to inquiries from 'Ici', Ryanair pointed to their refund policies available on their website, while no response had been received from Securus.
Founded in 1993, Securus provides airport security services across France, employing over 200 staff members at various airports including Paris, Nice, Lyon, Marseille, Lille, and Bordeaux. Ryanair boasts an impressive operational scale, conducting approximately 3,600 flights daily and serving 36 countries. In March alone, the airline transported 15.8 million passengers, with numbers of 13.3 million in February and 12.7 million in January.
As reported by focus.de.
