Passengers stuck on 32-hour Condor flight to nowhere and return where they started

Some passengers vomited during the 32-hour journey,which was meant to last for less than three (Picture: Getty Images)

It was meant to be a three-hour journey to a Greece,but ended up being a 32-hour trip to nowhere.

Condor flight DE1234 took off from Zurich at 6.51am as scheduled on May 24,filled with passengers looking forward to their holiday.

But they never got to enjoy as much as a sniff of tzatziki because the Airbus A320 they were on could not land in the strong winds over the Sea of Crete.

The pilot circled for around half an hour before the plane had to head to Athens to refuel.

At 11.24,an hour and a half after they were meant to land at Heraklion,they touched down 212 miles away from their destination.

They made a second attempt,but with the weather still rough and after 40 minutes of circling,the pilot aborted the descent and headed to Kos – 313 miles away.

But before it could land,the plane was diverted to Thessaloniki on the Greek mainland.

It landed at around 6pm,nearly 12 hours after leaving Switzerland.

The crew now reaching their working time limit,all 137 passengers had to disembark to spend a night in an airport hotel.

There was new hope the following morning,with the plane taking off and heading,once more,towards Heraklion.

Those hopes were,once again,dashed,and the plane was diverted to Athens.

The first leg of the fruitless journey from Zurich to Heraklion and then to Athens (Picture: Flightradar24)

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The passengers were taken on an unplanned tour of Greece as the plane made its second diversion to the island of Kos (Picture: Flightradar24)

From Kos,the plane diverted to Thessaloniki even further away from Crete. Another attempt to reach Heraklion was made the following day (Picture: Flightradar24)

When strong winds continued and the plane was diverted back to Athens again,the pilot gave up and flew back to Switzerland (Picture: Flightradar24)

The pilot then took the executive decision to give up and return the flight to Switzerland,touching down at 3pm – nearly a full day and a half after they set off.

Some passengers complained of not being given many refreshments throughout their ordeal,and some were said to have vomited during one of the attempted approaches to Heraklion.

They also claimed to have had to pay for their own hotels and upon landing in Athens for the second time,they were told they could disembark there if they wanted to – without their checked luggage.

A Condor spokesperson told Metro: ‘Despite several attempts to land in Heraklion,the flight was unfortunately unable to operate as planned and had to be diverted several times including a night stop in Thessaloniki before finally returning to Zurich.

‘Refreshments and drinks were served for all guests by the crew in the galley. We sincerely apologise to all affected guests for the inconveniences caused by this.’

Strong winds and sudden turbulence can be dangerous,even when flying above dry land.

A Ryanair flight hit severe turbulence recently from Berlin to Milan,injuring eight people and a crew member.

The conditions were so rough on board that the 179 passengers feared the plane could fall apart.