Sunday, August 25, 2013

A ticking timebomb

Will it be postponed, or will they let us take that plane to Hurghada?

 Our oldest daughter and her friend were planning their first holiday abroad together. It took them some time to find the perfect destination for what they had in mind. They wanted sun and fun and far away and lazy time by the pool. So they ended up with a beautiful hotel in Hurghada, Egypt. All summer long, they were looking forward to their vacation and tanning their skin before college starts. Lana and her friend will be attending the same college education in Bruges this fall and going on a holiday together was going to be the perfect start. Never did they expect problems in the country they planned on going to.

Things haven't been going well in Egypt lately. There's just too much commotion going on and the turmoil is not calming down yet. Jetair has cancelled its flights up until the end of October. Lana and her friend booked their trip with Thomas Cook. Now they have to wait until the last day of August, before they will know whether their plans are still in the running or not. After all, they would be leaving September 2nd, so that's not that far off.

What does one do? Do you take chances and decide to go to Egypt besides all the negative comments on the News?
Do you cancel your trip, loose your money and try to book some other vacation with a different agency?
Or would you postpone your vacation and go some other time?

It's never easy. But the most painful part of all, is that many innocent people in August are being terrorized by this awful situation. They have lost their beloved ones, their home, their jobs and their income. Tourists cancel their visit and spend their money on a different location. They are the true victims here. We are lucky to be able to pick Egypt as a holiday destination. We don't have to live there. The turmoil is not part of our daily life.. 

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Kleine tip: laat ze zelf al eens kijken of ze via thomas cook een alternatief vindt waar ze wel naartoe wilt. Eén van mijn collega's heeft heel lang op de luchthaven gewerkt en kwam daarmee af, en een andere collega is nu aan het proberen haar duiktrip naar Egypte om te zetten in een duikreisje naar Malta. De reisbureaus vinden dat vaak niet zo'n probleem. Het is natuurlijk niet evident om nog vrije plaatsen te vinden, maar het geeft wél de mogelijkheid om toch nog zorgeloos op vakantie te kunnen ...

www.kokenenhogehakken.blogspot.be said...

Thomas Cook geeft zelf nagenoeg geen andere opties. Alles is volzet en ze moeten ofwel een andere periode op vakantie gaan of hun geld terug. Het zal dat laatste worden. We kijken nu naar een andere vakantie...