A flight… for 16,000 euros: stranded abroad because of the war in Iran, a Toulouse family denounces airfares

There are thousands of them in this case, but their situation illustrates the hardship of the many tourists stranded by the outbreak of war in Iran and the cancellation of many flights. This family from Toulouse, who had gone to live for a year in Portugal, had decided to treat themselves to a two-week vacation in Sri Lanka, off the coast of which the United States recently torpedoed an Iranian ship.

Supposed to leave this Monday, March 2 in the evening from Colombo via Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) to land in Lisbon (Portugal), where they are spending a gap year, on Tuesday morning, Francisco, Aurélie and their 4 and a half year old daughter Evora were forced to extend their stay there, with no real alternative.

“I wanted to go to the Etihad office at Colombo airport, but it was closed. Only the text visible on their website was displayed. They explain that we can reschedule the flight until March 30, a date which has already changed, which is a false short-term solution given the current situation. Otherwise, they offer to reimburse half of the ticket, which had cost us 3,000 euros, but it is then up to us to find a way to leave,” says Francisco.

“The longer we wait, the more prices skyrocket”

Aware of not being a priority compared to people stranded in the Gulf countries, this forty-year-old from Toulouse especially points out the attitude of the airlines, which according to him, are “taking advantage of the situation”, while Etihad has not offered them accommodation. “We are lucky because we can afford the hotel, but how do others do it? Some people don’t know what to do, and the longer we wait, the more prices skyrocket. We provide no solution to people in transit like us and they take advantage of it to increase prices,” he says, scandalized.

During the first hours after the cancellation of their flight, the only solution was an Air France flight at 16,000 euros per person. They finally got away with 6,000 euros for three, “the cheapest available”, with a flight which left at midnight thirty this Friday March 6 in the morning from Colombo to reach New Delhi, where they will spend two nights, after having managed to obtain visas.

A trip Colombo-New Delhi-Kuala Lumpur-Lisbon

“Then, we take an Air India flight to Frankfurt, but it flies over Saudi Arabia, which does not reassure us, whereas many companies favor Central Asia…” A stress from which they have so far managed to protect their daughter. “If all goes well, we should arrive in Portugal on Sunday afternoon. But we don’t know if it will be maintained. »

The father also fears that Gulf companies will gradually resume flights “because their economic survival depends on it”, while the situation seems far from calming down in the region. But he already wants to be able to return to New Delhi, in order to benefit from an important airport hub and to be able to find a fallback solution.

To return home, some tourists are ready to do anything, like the Portuguese met there who are going to make a trip from Colombo-New Delhi-Kuala Lumpur-Lisbon. For others, it’s waiting at the hotel, glued to their cell phone to find a financially affordable solution.