MARIGOT--One stranded Air France passenger has described the situation caused by the continuing pilot's strike as "chaotic" adding that the computer system is unable to cope with the heavy demand for alternative bookings.
German passenger Wolfgang Graf said his flight was cancelled last Saturday and again on Monday, but he managed to get a seat on the KLM flight this Friday, as it was a "safer" option. His situation is better than most because he has a house on the island, but still travellers are faced with whether to pack or unpack a suitcase and have to constantly monitor the situation on a day-to-day basis.
"The computers are not able to handle this crisis," Graf told The Daily Herald. "I couldn't get a new booking, but finally I got one by calling Air France in Germany and the agent got it changed to KLM.
"The pilots are to blame for this situation, not Air France; the pilots think they are living in the last century. I am very upset with the pilots. If I had a choice I would not use Air France again, but the fact is Air France has a monopoly on this island.
"This strike will be very damaging for the airline. It has gone in to a new dimension....the pilots are tyrannising the majority. It's a political problem and President François Hollande is not able to force them to stop this nonsense."
Graf said his son was hoping to leave on today's (Thursday) Air France flight, and if he does it would be third time lucky.
According to the Air France website today's flight AF498 is running on schedule with an arrival in St. Maarten at 1:50pm. The strike, however, has been extended to September 30.
