So I mentioned in my previous entires Adventure Iceland – Part 1 and Adventure Iceland – Part 2, I mentioned our difficulty getting TO Iceland. It was something different, that is for sure.
Because we are loyal Star Alliance customers, we try to fly their carriers whenever possible. For this trip that meant taking SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) with a connection through Copenhagen. It seemed like a simple plan but then Winter Storm Otto came. Our quick 1:20 flight with a 2:00 layover morphed into a 3:00 bus ride and an overnight stay, meaning we lost an entire day of our trip.
Otto hit Copenhagen hard. At their peak, winds reached 145km/h (90mph), if it was a hurricane it would have been a category 1. So as you might imagine, landing was a challenge. We made two attempts in Copenhagen, nearly touching down during one, but thanks to wind sheer the pilot felt it safer to abort. After a bit of circling it was decided that we would be diverted to Billund. Where you might ask? I had never heard of it either, but apparently this is the headquarters of Lego and also home to the original Legoland Resort. So I guess that explains the airport.
Once we were on the ground there were plenty of other passengers but no customer service agents to help us figure out what to do next. We found a number of buses outside and upon talking to the drivers found out that they were there to get displaced passengers to Copenhagen. Too bad the airlines or airport didn’t think to put out any signs. So we hopped on one of the buses and off we went for the 3+ hour drive. Along the way I was calling hotels trying to get us a room for the night. We found one but it was a distance from the airport, since so many people were already trapped on the ground there. But it would be a bed.
We arrived at the hotel in Copenhagen at 2 am. The first flight out was at 8 am, so I opted to get back up at 5:30 am to check and see if/when we were rebooked. We were rescheduled for an afternoon departure so I was able to get a few more hours of sleep before checking out and heading back to the airport.
So, what to do about all of this? Remember, the airline had been no help but they were required by law to send us a copy of the EU Air Passenger Rights. Through that program we were able to apply for a reimbursement of our hotel and meals in Copenhagen, but I still don’t think I will be giving SAS any more of my money.
Red, White and Tulips 