Cruise passengers ‘stranded’ as they can’t get air home

Cruise passengers stranded in Budapest for two days in a heat wave are now on their way home after the ship’s air conditioner broke down.

Several people booked to travel on a river cruise on the Tui-run Skyla have complained to the BBC about a lack of information, with elderly passengers suffering as temperatures in the city soared to more than 35C this week.

Tui apologized and said he had arranged flights for passengers tomorrow and refunded the full amount.

Judith Dunn, 83, who paid £2,000 for a planned cruise on the Danube, told the BBC the heat on the boat was “absolutely unbearable”.

She was one of 146 people booked on the trip, which was meant to be a special treat for her and her friend.

It was Judith and her late husband’s 60th wedding anniversary and her friend’s 80th birthday, whose husband passed away a year ago.

It turned into a “nightmare,” she said. Judith and the other passengers arrived in the Hungarian capital at lunchtime on Monday, but were told that the airport they were brought to board the ship had broken down.

In the year She said they moved into hotels around 1930 and had to do their own cooking.

“After this we found out that the air console was broken for a while, of course the people who were here on the ship last week must also be in the hotel. So they knew about this, so we were a little upset about it.”

Europe has been in the throes of a heatwave, with temperatures forecast to reach 39C in Budapest on Tuesday.

Today passengers are taken back to the ship for lunch.

Another traveler, Melanie Roberts, praised the crew for making sure there was plenty of water.

But she said there are “a few people who are very concerned about the situation.”

“There are some old people here and people who are not as mobile as others.

“Basically, I think we’re getting to a point where… people want to go home.”

In a statement, Tui River Cruises told the BBC it was aware of a technical problem affecting the air conditioning on Tui Skyla following the extreme heat in Budapest.

“The ship is currently in Budapest, engineers and specialists are working to fix this as soon as possible.”

Following the announcement, a letter sent to passengers, seen by the BBC, said more time was needed to fully fix the problem and that a decision had been made to cancel the cruise.

Those affected will receive a full refund and a £100 voucher as a goodwill gesture.