Friday 19 September 2008
Flight OR 143
From: Amsterdam - Monastir
Concerns: Extreme delay
Arkefly cancelled flight OR 143, at least the flight was not executed on that day. When the passengers checked in at 16:45 it was already known that the flight would depart three hours later than stated on the ticket. Arkefly told her passengers about the change of schedule only three hours before the original departure time (18:40 hrs). the flight would now leave at 21:40. Then the passengers were told the flight would leave at 22:40. For the third time, however, the flight was aborted. The passengers were taken to a hotel. The next morning they were told once again that the flight was not going. The new departure time would be 18:00, the flight eventually left at 18:55.
In a letter, Arkefly stated that a technical problem with the aircraft that was scheduled to execute flight OR 143 was the reason for the change in flight schedule. In this letter Arkefly describes the problem as 'problems with theFlight Data Recorder'. This in contrast to her previous announcement to the passengers about problems with the brakes. Although according to Arkefly there was no question of a cancellation, in legal terms she appeals to an extraordinary circumstance.