Latest news: The European Commission has contacted the competent authorities in Romania to find out about the measures they are taking in the Blue Air crisis, said a spokesperson from Brussels. He recalled the rights that passengers have in the event of flight cancellations, but specified that compensations do not apply if the company can prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances.
“The application of passenger rights during the temporary suspension of Blue Air operations is however a matter of National Law and therefore it is up to the competent national authorities to ensure adequate monitoring in this regard. Like many airlines, Blue Air was affected by the COVID-19 crisis and had to file for pre-insolvency in July 2020.In August 2020, the Commission approved EUR 28 million in aid to compensate Blue Air for damages related to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the Commission agreed that Blue Air should be granted €33 million in rescue aid to cover its urgent short-term liquidity needs and to allow the company to continue operations while it develops a recovery plan. viable restructuring,” said the EC spokesperson.
After the airline Blue Air announced on Tuesday that it will suspend all flights from Romania until Monday, September 12, due to the fact that all its accounts have been blocked, the Government convened in an emergency meeting to decide on the Blue Air passengers blocked on the airports abroad.
The Minister of Transport, Sorin Grindeanu, announced that the Government will allocate, on Wednesday morning, 5 million lei to the Tarom company, to send aircraft to bring home the Romanians affected by the Blue Air company’s decision to stop flights. Later, the Government will move against this company to recover the amount of money, as well as the other arrears for which the Environmental Fund Administration has attached the accounts.
The Minister of Transport said that all those affected by the Blue Air company’s decision to stop flights can request in court the recovery of the money paid on the tickets. “We have a European Regulation that applies to all airlines, including Blue Air, and this European Regulation says that when flights are cancelled, when there are very long delays, those who bought the tickets can take action against the company and get their the money. This also applies to Blue Air. We are talking about a private company, it is not about Tarom or a company that is in the concern of the state. Our concern is to bring Romanians to the country, and opposite this company, which benefited from help from the Romanian Government, we must see how the economic part works, because the situation cannot remain in this way”, Sorin Grindeanu stated.
Asked if he could avoid the Environmental Fund Administration seizing the Blue Air accounts, Sorin Grindeanu explained that the seizure is not related to the flights. He added that the Government will then go to court against the Blue Air company, to recover the sums of money spent for the transport of passengers affected by the cancellation of flights, but also to recover other outstanding sums of money that the airline has to pay to the Romanian state.
Government spokesperson Dan Carbunaru had also assured that all Romanians who were to fly to Romania by Blue Air will be brought home, as a crisis cell had been set up at the Government to handle this situation.
According to Blue Air, the blocking of the accounts comes immediately after the statements of the head of ANPC who called for a boycott of the company. The National Authority for Consumer Protection (ANPC) fined Blue Air two million euros for canceling over 11,000 flights between April 30, 2021 – April 30, 2022, dubbed as the largest fine in its history on Blue Air.
Ryan Air and Wizz Air provide tickets for Blue Air passengers, Vola.ro provides free assistance
Other low-cost airline companies, such as Ryan Air and Wizz Air announce that they are making available tickets for Blue Air passengers affected by the cancellation of flights. Wizz Air announced special rates for Blue Air customers on Wednesday night.
Wizz Air announced special rates for Blue Air customers. Affected passengers can now book tickets on Wizz Air flights with fares starting at €49.99 using the booking code Blue Air. Bookings can be made via the Wizz Air page for special fares.
Ryanair has also announced that it has launched “rescue fares”, which start at 49.99 euros, for trips until October 31, with the mention that they can be booked until midnight on September 9.
Vola.ro offers as well free assistance and a discount coupon of 15 euros / reservation for any passenger who received a canceled flight notification between September 6 – 12. The coupon can be used to purchase a new ticket from Vola.ro with any airline to reach the destination (departures from or to Romania).
This can be obtained on the chat on the Vola.ro website by pressing the button “Cancelled Blue Air Flight” after proving that he had a canceled flight by Blue Air between September 6-12 (print screen or photo with the number the ticket). The coupon is valid until September 12 inclusive.