Cracked windshield forces Sunwing Airlines (operating for TUI Netherlands) to divert to Bucharest

On 17 September, a Sunwing Airlines Boeing 737-800 (registered C-FFPH) operated TUI Airlines Netherlands flight OR3042 between Antalya, Turkey and Rotterdam, The Netherlands. A cracked windshield, however, forced the pilots to divert to Bucharest, Romania. 

According to Dutch press, the cockpit window was damaged (cracked) after a suspicion of a birdstrike. Passengers explained that, after landing in Bucharest, they waited for two hours inside the aircraft. The airline promised passengers to provide hotel accommodation.

A few hours later, the passengers were informed by a text message that the airline was not able to book hotel rooms. Passengers were also not allowed to leave the airport due to visa issues, they were thus forced to stay overnight at the airport.

TUI Airlines Netherlands regrets that they were not able to provide enough hotel rooms for the 189 passengers: “we informed passengers that they could arrange own accommodation, we would then refund them afterwards. We regret that most of them had a very uncomfortable night at the airport.”

On Sunday, a TUI Fly Belgium Boeing 737-800 (registered OO-JEF) departed from Brussels Airport, Belgium to bring the stranded passengers from Bucharest to Rotterdam where the aircraft safely landed on Sunday afternoon.

Read the full story of passenger Kim Heijdenrijk on Twitter:

Manmanman. Het verhaal gaat nu op de luchthaven van Boekarest – waar wij met vlucht OR3042 om 21.00 uur een noodlanding maakten – dat @TUINederland ons in gate 38 wil laten slapen en wachten tot 19.00 uur zondag (!) om ons naar NL te vliegen. Zijn een hoop jonge gezinnen bij.

— ??? ??????????? (@KimHeijdenrijk) September 17, 2022