{"id":50552,"date":"2023-11-08T12:40:28","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T07:10:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?p=50552"},"modified":"2024-02-10T11:10:43","modified_gmt":"2024-02-10T05:40:43","slug":"football-players-hijack-commercial-flight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2023\/11\/08\/football-players-hijack-commercial-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"Football Players “Hijack” Commercial Flight Amid Private Jet Breakdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SPAIN-<\/strong> Air Nostrum (YW) faced criticism for canceling a planned passenger flight from Vigo (VGO) to Madrid (MAD) in order to prioritize the transportation of the Spanish football club Sevilla FC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This controversial choice by the Spanish airline resulted in 80 passengers <\/strong>having to endure a bus journey of 600 km (372 miles) to Madrid, taking approximately four hours longer than the initially scheduled one-hour flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Nabil Molinari | Flickr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Football Players Hijack (Cut-in-Line) Flight<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The incident unfolded on the evening of November 4th when flight IB8869<\/strong> from Vigo (VGO) to Madrid (MAD) was abruptly canceled, with the aircraft redirected to operate a charter flight to Seville (SVQ).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air Nostrum seemingly had to utilize one of its regular jets as it couldn’t employ the originally chartered aircraft for Sevilla FC due to a technical issue. Sevilla FC had been in Vigo for a match against Celta Vigo, which concluded in a 1-1 draw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plane utilized for the journey to Seville was the EC-MLC, a CRJ1000 operated by Air Nostrum on behalf of Iberia <\/a>Regional. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iberia provides service to Vigo, with up to four daily flights from Madrid, one of which is operated by Air Nostrum. The remaining services are carried out using Iberia’s Airbus A320 family aircraft<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: By Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK – Bombardier CRJ-1000 \u2018EC-LJT\u2019 Iberia Regional, CC BY-SA 2.0, https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/w\/index.php?curid=54930121<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Strong Criticism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The episode has garnered widespread coverage in the Spanish national media, with accounts of passengers experiencing disruptions to international connections and crucial appointments due to the cancellation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A passenger affected by the incident was quoted by the Spanish newspaper El Pa\u00eds<\/em>, expressing the sentiment, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“That only happens in a banana republic. Football is allowed to take everything and everyone by surprise.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In a statement <\/strong>released by Air Nostrum on X (previously known as Twitter), the airline extended a sincere apology for the incident. It announced its intention to reach out to all affected passengers within the next week to provide compensation for the inconvenience caused:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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pic.twitter.com\/7fgdMDkFfF<\/a><\/p>— AIR NOSTRUM L.A.M. (@AirNostrumLAM) November 5, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote>