Toulouse. Panic on board: diverted by storm, flight forced to land in Pau

“There was a lot of nervousness, panic and many crying children, which were not treated by Air France,” explains a passenger on the flight from Paris Charles de Gaulle and supposed landing in Toulouse. Yesterday at 17:45 about forty passengers boarded an A320 bound for Toulouse Blagnac. But on approach to the airport, a severe storm broke out over the Toulouse region, preventing the plane from landing as planned. “We circled over Toulouse many times, it was long and scary, mainly because we had no information,” says the passenger. Thirty minutes passed, letting doubts and misunderstandings settle aboard the plane. “It was a long time before we were told it was impossible to land in Toulouse.”

Flight diverted to Pau

Finally, the passengers are forced to land in Pau. But the difficulties persist. “The landing was difficult for the pilots, the runway at the airport was too short for the size of the aircraft. The passengers were scared, the children were crying and exhausted, but it ended well in the end,” he confides.

“We waited more than 2 hours without bus”

“When the plane finally landed, we were unable to get off, for safety reasons. We had to wait two or three hours locked in the plane, until Air France let us off.” And back to Toulouse, the troubles continued. “An announcement was made for a replacement bus, but in reality we waited more than 2 hours without a bus. I was on a business trip. I had an urgent need to rent a car, even at 10.30pm. The company has not yet covered this cost, nor any refund of the ticket”, concludes the passenger.

Contacted on Tuesday, the Air France company did not respond to our requests…