A Belgian family’s dream holiday to Egypt has turned into a logistical nightmare after multiple failed attempts by TUI fly Nederland to transport passengers from Sharm-el-Sheikh to Hurghada. The ordeal began Friday morning and has left dozens of travellers stranded for more than three days with little clarity and mounting frustration.
Lien Neiman, 33, from Berendrecht (Antwerp), was en route to Hurghada with her husband and nine-year-old son for a one-week break. Speaking to Het Laatste Nieuws, Neiman detailed their ongoing struggle, saying the situation has become unbearable. “We’re completely exhausted. We’ve barely slept for three days, and the lack of clear communication from TUI has made it worse.”
The family boarded TUI fly Netherlands flight OR3401 from Eindhoven on Friday morning (4 April), with a planned layover in Sharm-el-Sheikh before continuing to Hurghada. However, after landing in Sharm, passengers were held on board for three and a half hours due to a technical issue with the aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 registered PH-TFR.
Eventually, they were disembarked and transported by bus to a nearby hotel, joining about 40 other Belgian travellers. TUI initially informed them via SMS that continuing the journey would not be possible the same day and booked an extra night at the hotel.
What followed was a string of shifting departure times and cancelled flights, each time raising and then dashing the passengers’ hopes. On Saturday, 5 April, TUI announced a new flight scheduled for Sunday morning, which was subsequently delayed to midday and then again to 21:00. That final attempt was aborted after passengers had already boarded the aircraft, once again citing technical issues.
Neiman expressed deep dissatisfaction with TUI’s communication, calling it “below standard.” “We only get updates via SMS, often at the last minute, and with constantly changing information. Even the TUI staff on site seem to have no clue what’s happening.”
Adding to their disappointment, the hotel provided by TUI reportedly did not match the standard of the resort they had booked in Hurghada. “We paid a lot for this holiday. Now we’ve already lost nearly half of it. This is unacceptable,” said Neiman, who plans to file a formal complaint and seek compensation.
In response to growing public criticism, TUI spokesperson Piet Demeyere confirmed that the issue with the original aircraft was more serious than anticipated. “A technician was flown in, but the defect could not be resolved. To avoid further uncertainty, we’ve sent a replacement aircraft to transport the passengers to their destination.”
According to TUI, the new flight is now scheduled to depart Sharm-el-Sheikh at 16:00 local time on Monday.
Demeyere also addressed the communication concerns, stating: “We try not to bombard passengers with updates unless we have confirmed, actionable information. Still, we understand their frustration and are working to improve this.”
TUI has committed to compensating the affected passengers for the inconvenience.
