We had to move out of the luxury hotel after the strike – not sure if they will get a refund or not

Hilda Sorkin and her two daughters, Frida and Pernelle, must involuntarily extend their vacation in Italy by five days.

The day before the Sorkins return home to the mustachioed Trondheim after ten days in beautiful Venice, Hilda and her daughters receive a letter they would rather live without.

Airport staff in Italy had gone on strike, and the return flight to Norway had been cancelled.

Then the family just had to find a place to spend the night.

Due to a big festival in Venice, Hilda and her daughters struggle to find a hotel with available rooms.

Finally, they found a room at the five-star Ausonia Hungaria Hotel on the island of Lido di Venezia.

The price per night is 615 euros – or 6945 NOK.

Thus Hilde has to shell out NOK 13,891 for two nights.

She and her daughters have checked in there, and Hilda does not yet know if the Norwegian will foot the bill for accommodation.

Did not receive an answer regarding additional costs

Sorken believes that the Norwegian should be responsible for the bill, although she has not yet received confirmation of this.

– Obviously, our expenses will be much higher than planned.

Sorken was in contact with his insurance company, which explained through an automated response that the airline was responsible for covering the additional costs that come after the involuntary extension of the vacation.

But she says Trønder has not received any answers from the Norwegian.

– It was “very difficult” to communicate with them, she says.

– When you are number 116 in the queue for help, and then you are kicked out of the chat twice, I think the Norwegian handled this badly.

The family had to arrange all the logistics themselves.

The mother and her daughters were scheduled to return to work next Monday.

Instead, the trio took an extended involuntary vacation.

– Things must be sorted among themselves

If you have problems traveling because of the strike, you usually aren’t entitled to ticket compensation, Consumers Council senior legal advisor Thomas Iversen told VG earlier this summer.

– He explained that in such cases, the passengers and the airline should sort things out among themselves.

You still have some rights as passengers of a flight affected by the strike:

– If the delay means you have to wait until the next day to travel, you are entitled to a free hotel stay, he said.

Norwegian: – Had to cancel

– We’ll have to cancel several flights to and from Italy this weekend, says telecoms consultant Celje Glorrwegen at The Norwegian.

Glorivision says these cancellations are frustrating for both passengers and airlines.

– It’s high season and many full flights in the coming days, so it’s hard to find seats. This applies to both us and other airlines.

Glorvigen further states that the airline communicates with customers as soon as possible when a flight has been canceled and advises them of their rights.

– If a flight is cancelled, customers have two options: rebook on another flight or get a refund for the unused ticket. If customers choose to get a refund, they can freely choose to book new airline tickets.

– When something unexpected happens, there is naturally extra pressure on our Customer Center colleagues, hence somewhat longer wait times than usual.

– We, like other European airlines, follow EU regulation dealing with passenger rights. This includes, among other things, that we can cover your hotel, food, and transportation to and from the airport if you are unable to get home as planned. Basically, we ask passengers to choose the most affordable options.

– We just have to enjoy ourselves

Now Hilda and her daughters, Frida and Pernille, see no other choice but to enjoy an extended holiday.

On Monday they went to Milan, a place they had not been to before.

Even if it’s boring, we just have to enjoy ourselves. We just have to turn it into something positive, and I think we can do that,” Sorkin concludes.