Thousands of people were stranded at an airport in Iceland – including Damian Lewis

• Thousands of people were stranded at Iceland’s Keflavik International Airport due to inclement weather.
• Travelers describe “otherworldly” conditions, lack of food and water, and no way to reach hotels.
• Finally back in DC, Caroline Rose spotted actor Damian Lewis in the crowd.

Thousands of people were stranded at Iceland’s Keflavik International Airport due to bad weather – and they took to social media to share photos of the ‘otherworldly’ airport conditions during their December holiday travels.

Caroline Rose, a 26-year-old researcher at the Washington-based think tank New Lines Institute, shared several photos on Twitter, including a selfie with 51-year-old “Billions” actor Damian Lewis.

In a Twitter DM, Rose described her experience to Insider as an “absolute nightmare” and said she asked Lewis, who was waiting with her kids, to take a photo — “I thought I’d like to take some kind of selfie. A positive memory of the night,” Rose explained. . “He was incredibly kind!” Representatives for Lewis did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

Rose, who flew from Heathrow to Keflavik on Saturday, described her flight as being delayed “every few minutes due to extreme weather conditions on the ground,” but after calling Icelandair to make “alternative arrangements,” she told Insider. ordered to stay on the plane and eventually left London and landed in Keflavik.

“All the restaurants were closed and the vending machines were pretty much ransacked,” Rose said, describing her companions who arrived in Keflavik on Saturday evening to find “otherworldly” conditions.

“Many of us were hungry and after the airline only gave us cereal bars to eat while waiting on the tarmac, we were forced to find any food we could find,” Rose said, referring to the two-hour delay she experienced while waiting on the tarmac. remove from the board.

As the number of stranded travelers increased, available hotel spaces dwindled rapidly.

A TikToker, a December 21 TikTok described landing in Iceland for an hour’s layover and being stranded for four days since, while also describing a “surge” of passengers trying to find a hotel. This is reported by NBC Newsmany nearby hotels were already fully booked for the weekend.

while airlines like Islandair and easyJet It offered passengers hotel accommodation and fees, even those lucky enough to stay in a hotel didn’t necessarily get the beds they paid for. Rose, who said she booked a hotel room while still on the tarmac, was one such traveler.

“There were no taxis or buses to take us to nearby hotels or to Reykjavik,” he explained, “so I had to eat the cost of my hotel reservation for the night (they didn’t refund) and sleep on the airport floor with hundreds of others.”

Travelers trying to pick up visitors from the airport also shared failed attempts at “dangerous driving” to pick visitors back up from the airport. December 19including his mother accompanied by a woman”mountain rescuer🇧🇷

Rose described travelers sleeping on the check-in baggage belt and on top of luggage, as well as those forming “cafeteria-like circles” with strangers on the ground to share snacks.

“It was heartbreaking to see parents trying to get little kids to sleep,” Rose said. “The airport was very cold.”

Around midnight, as the rebookings began to hit passengers’ accounts, Rose described frustratingly complicated or impossible itineraries—she recalled that one traveler was put on a Thursday flight (it was Sunday morning at the time) and another had to return. London and change airports during the one-hour layover.

Now finally back in Washington, Rose said, “I had to fly to Amsterdam, where I transferred to my flight home to DC in less than 15 minutes.” “I did it by the skin of my teeth.” Unfortunately, Icleandair lost his checked bag, he said.

The vital 30-mile highway connecting Keflavik to Reykjavík was cleared of snow as of Tuesday, and flights from the airport resumed, albeit with delays. “Icelandair” agency reported on this🇧🇷

“Our team worked tirelessly through the night to rebook passengers onto the new flights and will continue to do so today.” Icelandair said in an update on Wednesday morning🇧🇷 “Getting passengers where they need to be before Christmas is our absolute priority.”

But passengers are disappointed with the experience and the airlines’ handling of the chaos.

Another Londoner, Ryan Stevens, saved €1,500 after paying for three nights in a hotel and booking two extra flights. Insider Rebecca Cohenwithout any notice of refund.

“I’m happy I didn’t go to the airport. I’m not stuck there. But I don’t know what to do.” Stevens previously told Insider🇧🇷 “No one can blame the airlines for the cancellations, but the aftercare of an incident like this needs to be better managed. I’m stuck. I have no idea what the next step is. No support.”

Rose felt the same way.

“I find it difficult to understand why Icelandair decided (and continues to) irresponsibly send passengers to Keflavik knowing that the weather conditions are very dangerous and will prevent people from having access to a warm place to sleep, eat and drink. ,” he said.

Icleandair did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

Email tips on everything posted online mleighton@insider.com🇧🇷