WEST ALLIS, Wisconsin. – Just days after the global cyber outage, the effects are still being felt by airlines around the world.
A West Allis family is stranded in Mexico after a mechanical glitch. A relaxing vacation has taken a turn for the worse for Maya Gonzales and her family.
“We just wanted to come here for our annual family vacation,” Gonzales said. “It just turned into a nightmare.”
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The West Allis family of five traveled to Mexico last Sunday. They were scheduled to leave Tulum on Friday, the same day an IT outage grounded planes and caused technical problems for hospitals and banks worldwide.
“Once we got to the airport, the kiosks weren’t working. The lines were very long,” Gonzales said. “They kept saying ‘we don’t have answers, we don’t have answers.'”
They considered buying new tickets, but the prices were astronomical.
“The only flights they had available were $3,200 per person,” she said.
Gonzales said United Airlines put her family on a flight scheduled for Tuesday, July 23.
“I missed my aunt’s funeral and had to cancel doctor’s appointments,” she said.
In a statement to FOX6 News, United Airlines said:
“Most of our technology systems have been restored and our reliability is increasing, although we will still experience cancellations and delays this weekend (…). Our customer service teams in call centers and at airports are working overtime to provide our customers with the assistance they need, including hotel and food vouchers when necessary.”
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“They give us a $30 credit per person per day. But that’s for breakfast, lunch and dinner,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales is looking forward to returning home.
“Some people say you’re stuck in paradise, you’re stuck in paradise,” she said. “That’s not the case.”
A holiday that the family will not soon forget.
