Between today's storm shutting nearby airspace down entirely for half and hour and the strike by Iberia ground staff, it's proving a difficult weekend for travellers at Barcelona-El Prat Airport. Vueling alone, for example, had already cancelled 112 flights over the strike, whilst at least 14 more that were scheduled have had to be shelved over the adverse weather currently affecting European skies.
But even when flights have gone ahead that doesn't mean everything's gone smoothly. Passengers on one Vueling flight meant to have departed for London Gatwick this morning, for example, reported having been stuck on the tarmac for more than four hours.
Translation: "Four hours shut in the Vueling plane without taking off from Barcelona. Neither water nor food. Supposedly it was taking off at 10:50. It's 14:50 and 🤷🏻♂️"
Bartelsman isn't the only passenger to have reported the situation on Twitter, others have confirmed his claims, whilst the airline later said the delay was due to the restrictions to Barcelona airspace.
"Vueling, we passengers on flight 7836 have been shut in the plane since 11am without food or water. Thanks"
"Vueling. Locked in the plane since 10:30am. Various excuses depending on the time. The captain threatening our passage ordering us to be quiet. And fasting!"
Other flights affected include VY1883 from Berlin to Barcelona, affected by a delay to the previous flight to Berlin, with its passengers also complaining about a lack of information. It would eventually arrive over two hours late.
"We're in Berlin waiting for flight VY1883 to Barcelona. The website says 'on time' and there's nobody here. What's happening Vueling?"
Vueling, for their part, released a brief statement on their Twitter feed: "Due to the adverse weather over large parts of Europe, our operations could be affected. Check the status of your flight here: [link]. #SafetyFirst" [Translator's note: I've changed the link to take you to the English version of the page]