Unusual delay announcement

[W5]

https://simpleflying.com/vueling-pilot-tricks-passengers/

On Thursday, pilots on a Vueling flight played a trick on passengers on a flight to Ibiza, apologizing for a delay. The pilots said they were still learning how to fly the aircraft and would get passengers in the air as soon as possible.

The service concerned was operated by low-cost Spanish airline Vueling. It was a scheduled domestic flight between Barcelona's El Prat International Airport (BCN) on the Spanish mainland and Ibiza International Airport (IBZ), an Island famous primarily for its nightlife.

According to Diario de Mallorca, the pilot's announcement went as follows (translated from Spanish):

“I am sorry to inform you that we will be departing a little bit later than expected. We are going to leave later than expected because my copilot and I are reading the plane’s instruction manual to know how to takeoff. But don’t worry, I think ultimately we will manage.”

The announcement understandably surprised passengers, with many reportedly quite concerned. It was not until later that passengers realized it was a joke. According to Diario de Mallorca, one passenger said (translated from Spanish):

"At first we only thought that he was telling us that there was no runway and that we would take off later. Then we saw that it was a joke because it was the 28th."

The Airbus A320-200 operating flight VY3519 on Thursday was registered EC-KDX. The aircraft is just over 16 years old. The flight was scheduled to leave Barcelona at 10:00 pm and arrive in Ibiza at 10:55 pm local time. It only departed Barcelona ten minutes late, according to Flightradar24.

 

The Day of the Holy Innocents

December 28 marks the Día de los Inocentes or Day of the Holy Innocents in English, a Spanish holiday tradition. It is deemed one of the most popular Christmas traditions in Spain and is compared with April Fools' Day. It involves playing practical jokes on others. Purchasing prank toys or other items at Christmas markets is also customary.