I had a very disappointing experience with Swiss International Air Lines during the Christmas period. My flight from Zurique to São Paulo - Brazil was cancelled while my family and I were already at the airport, and the situation was handled extremely poorly.
There was no clear communication and no staff available to assist passengers. We spent some time trying to find someone who could help us, and it honestly felt like we might have to spend Christmas Eve at the airport. When we finally managed to speak to a staff member, he was rude and avoided explaining why the flight had been cancelled without any prior notice.
Eventually, we were sent to a hotel and given food vouchers worth only 20 Swiss francs. When we arrived, the hotel kitchen was already closed, so the only option available was microwave food. It’s unrealistic to think that 20 francs is enough to cover a proper meal in Zurique.
To make matters worse, I was 4 months pregnant at the time and feeling very unwell due to the stress. My blood pressure dropped, and the whole situation was extremely difficult for me. My 78-year-old grandmother was also travelling with us, and despite this, there was no assistance provided to reach the hotel. We had to walk there with our luggage. While the distance itself wasn’t very long, carrying heavy bags made it exhausting.
Our flight to Brazil was eventually rescheduled for 25 December. However, because of this cancellation we missed our connecting flight from São Paulo to our final destination in Brazil. We lost £314 on new tickets because the airline said their responsibility was only to get us to São Paulo — everything after that was our responsibility. In addition to buying new tickets, we also had to pay for a hotel in São Paulo since there were no flights available to our final destination anymore.
Overall, it was a very stressful and unfair experience, especially considering the circumstances, the time of year, and the vulnerable passengers involved. I expected far better assistance and customer care from the airline.
Claim your business profile now and gain access to all features and respond to customer reviews.
SWISS is Switzerland’s national airline, flying to 90 destinations around the world. Visit SWISS.COM for special offers, flight schedules and general information.