View Full Version : Tuifly crew accident in Hurghada
bavarian-buddy
2nd Dec 2012, 17:14
German airline crew killed in Egypt car accident - Wire World News - The Sacramento Bee (http://www.sacbee.com/2012/12/02/5024910/5-german-airline-crew-killed-in.html)
Horrible accident :(
Driving to the airport is still the most dangerous part. Stay safe, use the seatbelts and always insist on a safe speed.
20milesout
2nd Dec 2012, 18:07
Terrible news indeed.
The TUIfly crew had been on itīs way from the crew hotel in Soma Bay to HEGN airport for an early morning departure, when their minibus hit (or was hit by) another minibus.
4 crewmembers dead.
2 injured, luckily out of danger.
I wonder why TUIFly has chosen a crew hotel some 40 km away from the airport, as Egyptian roads are commonly known as deathtraps, especially at night.
fireflybob
3rd Dec 2012, 09:41
Crews are continuously traveling all over the world by road transport to/from hotac and airport and as one who has also done same for quite a few years can recall a couple of near misses.
I think the last time crew members died whilst positioning during duty was the Airtours crew that perished in an air taxi at Glasgow in 1999.
Not many good hotels close to Hurghada airport. Soma Bay has good hotels with reasonable food hygiene standards.
The highway from Hurghada to Soma Bay is one of the better ones in Egypt. If you really want to scare yourself try the road to the Sinai coast from Taba or along the coast north east or north west from Sharm El Sheikh.
The local driving standards are very poor - and even if your driver is OK the other guy may not be. Trucks coming at you on the wrong side of a dual carriageway without lights, barrels full of rocks to 'protect' parked vehicles that have long since gone, donkey carts, unmarked trenches, drifting sand across the road....
John21UK
3rd Dec 2012, 15:31
Made my stomach turn. All the best to their families and fellow crew members!
Hotel Tango
3rd Dec 2012, 16:51
Sad news. How often I have said to myself driving to the airport before a flight or driving home after one: "now for the dangerous part of the trip". I have had a few hair raising taxi rides to and from airports too. I now tip them to drive more sedately!
There is one bus driver in Jeddah, working for the Hilton, who I would gladly club to death with his steering wheel after scaring the bjesus out of me a few weeks ago.
DownIn3Green
4th Dec 2012, 00:01
I was in a crew transport accident in Paraguay in 1989...since then, I have NEVER sat in the front of a "crew/hotel" van since...Even if it meant taking another vehicle with seats in back...
mickjoebill
5th Dec 2012, 10:52
Driving to the airport is still the most dangerous part.
I guess we all subscribe to the accident statistics for airplane journeys versus road journeys...yet is not reflected by the postings on this forum that regularly detail the misfortunes of pilots whilst they are in command and very few postings of accounts where they are involved in accidents on the way to the airport.
Dan Winterland
5th Dec 2012, 15:18
The drive to/from the airport is far more dnagerous than the flight. I have been a passenger in five road traffic accidents on crew transport. the quality of the transport to and from the airport on layovers needs to be a priority for the employers and the unions.
Mr Angry from Purley
5th Dec 2012, 16:14
Very sad news and i support what Dan says. Crews need to remind themselves occasionally that the most dangerous part of their journey is the taxi/drive home, and perhaps not necessarily what happens on the aircraft
jetopa
9th Dec 2012, 19:30
There is one bus driver in Jeddah, working for the Hilton, who I would gladly club to death with his steering wheel after scaring the bjesus out of me a few weeks ago.
Unfortunately, this is true for driving in the 'Magic Kingdom' in general.
Only solution: paying more for adequately screened drivers with well-maintained vehicles. But then again...
It's not just Egypt,
many cities around the world are very dangerous to drive in.
Many times, I find myself after a normal and quite 10 hours and more flying, scared after, for just :mad: 10/15 minutes in a van!
But what i would like tpo point out is not how far is the Hotel, rather than in which dangerous place you are but about these DRIVERS!!!!
It will not be the first nor the last tragedy!!
So i would like to suggest all the Airline company to choose carefully some sort of faithfull employee with the only and only duty to drive safely the crew!