These UvA students are stranded abroad due to snow
The snow has caused many flights to and from Schiphol to be cancelled, meaning that UvA students are unable to get home. “What am I supposed to do now? All the flights I try to book are either fully booked or cost thousands of euros.”
Simone van Moerkerk (26)
Second year student Media & Information
“I’m currently in York, England. My boyfriend is from here, and we were here to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s. We were actually supposed to return to the Netherlands on Sunday: I study in Amsterdam, and my boyfriend is doing a PhD in Wageningen. But the flight was cancelled.”
“We’ve now been rebooked for Tuesday, but there’s a good chance that this flight will be cancelled as well. We’re looking into alternatives, but the train and ferry are also fully booked for Tuesday.”
“I’m not extremely stressed, because my classes don’t start again until next week. My boyfriend, however, has all kinds of appointments, so it’s more difficult for him. Still, I would also like to be home, just to be able to prepare for the intense week ahead. I’d like to properly go through the study materials in advance.”
“I was scrolling through TikTok and saw that lots of Brits are actually stuck in Amsterdam after celebrating New Year’s there. In that sense, I do feel relieved that I have a place to stay with my boyfriend and don’t have to sleep in a hotel.”
Miguel Molla Garcia (19)
Second year student PPLE
“I’m Spanish and originally from Valencia, where I’m currently staying with my family. I’m in a bit of a strange situation. Originally, I was supposed to fly back on Tuesday, because Epiphany is celebrated on January 5th and 6th. I had booked this flight before I had my schedule for this course in January. I only realized later that this isn’t the case in the Netherlands, and that at the University of Amsterdam everything starts up again on Monday, so I booked a second flight that was supposed to depart Monday morning at 6:00.”
“If the snow had not disrupted things, I would have landed at 9:00 a.m., well in time for my class at 1:00 p.m. That class has a mandatory attendance policy: you are allowed to miss a maximum of two classes. And I needed to be present, because I have been selected for an academic program in Rome taking place at the end of January, which means I would already be missing two classes. I asked my lecturer whether I could be exempted, but he referred me to the Examination Board and gave me little hope.”
“Now I have a problem, because I was unable to attend this week’s class due to both of my flights being cancelled because of the snow. The lecturer emailed that attendance is being recorded, but that no decision has yet been made about whether the attendance requirement will be enforced. That uncertainty causes me even more stress. I saw on the FEB Instagram page that they have already said they will not be enforcing mandatory attendance. I am afraid that because of this situation I will not pass the course or will not be able to go to Rome.”
“What should I do now? All the flights I can find are either fully booked or cost thousands of euros. I will probably only be able to fly back on Sunday, which means I will miss the entire week of classes. It is such a hectic situation. And I cannot believe that now that it has finally snowed in Amsterdam, I am not there. I actually feel like I deserve to see the snow that is now causing me so many problems.”
Tuana Yogurtcu (21) & Mehin Aliyeva (19)
Third year students Economics and Business Economics
Tuana: “I live in Istanbul and my flight is scheduled for Tuesday. I was here during the holiday to visit my family and get some rest.”
Mehin: “I’m from Azerbaijan and I had a layover in Istanbul on Saturday. When I landed, I found out that the flight to Amsterdam got cancelled. So I messaged Tuana saying, ‘Guess where I am?’ Her mother insisted that I stay with them instead of booking a hotel. Now, three days later, all flights are still cancelled.”
Tuana: “Sunday we spent the entire day at the airport. We had to stand in line for six hours just to get information about Mehin’s luggage. After hours of waiting, they told us her luggage is in Amsterdam. So her suitcases made it, but she didn’t.”
Mehin: “I’m worried because there’s food in my suitcase that will expire quickly. If I don’t fly soon, my entire suitcase and all my belongings are going to smell. That’s honestly my only concern. I have classes, but I can miss them.”
Tuana: “I am a teacher assistant and I have three classes on Wednesday. But I can’t help the situation either. If my flight goes tomorrow, I’ll fly and Mehin will stay here, because all the other flights are already fully booked.”
Mehin: “I’ve visited Tuana before and stayed with her family back then as well. To be honest, I even missed them a little. So this feels like a nice reunion.”
Tuana: “If my flight gets cancelled Tuesday as well, we’ll make the best of it. We’ll do something fun: go sightseeing, do something touristy.”
