The charter-flight company, Vueling, will refund the price of tickets purchased by teachers and pupils at Almuñécar's high school, IES Antigua Sexi.

The school had organised a return flight between Rome and Málaga having finished their school trip to Italy. They had missed the flight after their coach to Rome’s Fiumicino Airport was held up in a road accident.

However, although the boarding gates were closed when they arrived, the flight still hadn’t left or finished seating passengers,

They finally managed to get a flight back but not in time for the end-of-term, graduation ceremony. The school, however, allowed them to do it a week after everybody else and the Mayor was there to tell them that Vueling had agreed to refund them the money spent on the original return flight – he had just received a call from the company’s offices in Andalucía with the good news.

Obviously, this money will be well received as parents and the school administration had had to cough up more money for an extra return flight

There were over 40 people on that school trip, including the accompanying teachers, and despite efforts at the time to get a refund, there had been no response from the charter-flight company.

One last point, the Mayor, Juan Jose Ruiz Joya had got on to the Mayor of the Italian town of Cerveteri, which is close to Rome and which was twinned many years ago with Almuñécar. The Italian mayor organised a coach to pick them up at Rome’s Airport, drive them to Cerveteri, provide them with accommodation for the night and then get them back to the airport to catch three different flights to Madrid (there were not enough spare seats on any single flight).

But it doesn’t end there because the Mayor of Almuñécar chartered a coach to pick them up in Madrid and bring them home. The story concludes with a meal in Restaurante Árbol Blanco to celebrate their home coming and graduation ceremony (see photo)

Editorial comment: I think Juan Jose has the makings for being a good mayor for Almuñécar because all this was done after he had clearly won the municipal elections, so it was no PR stunt.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)