VILNIUS - Alma Adamkiene, the president's wife, was left behind in the VIP hall at the Vilnius Airport while the rest of the delegation flew to Warsaw.
Adamkiene had been scheduled to fly to the Polish capital on June 4 to celebrate the birthday of the Polish president's wife, but the flight attendants forgot to escort her to the plane. As a result, she sat in the VIP lounge waiting to be called onboard and the plane took off without her.
What's more, Adamkiene's luggage made it to Warsaw without her.
Vilnius International Airport services and the airlines that had arranged the flight to Warsaw were unable to explain how Adamkiene and Bozena Krasovskaya, the president's assistant who was escorting the first lady to Warsaw, were left in the VIP lounge.
"Neither did we ask. We were more concerned about getting to Warsaw in time," Krasovskaya was quoted as saying.
Jolanta Kwasniewska, the Polish president's wife, had invited Adamkiene to Warsaw to celebrate her 50th birthday. The unexpected incident caused the party, which was to be attended by the former Czech president's wife and many other prominent figures, to be postponed for 30 minutes.
Adamkiene succeeded in reaching Warsaw, taking a flight via Copenhagen.
Airport director Julius Kvaraciejus said that Lithuanian Airlines and Poland's LOT airline should take responsibility for the incident, since they arranged the flight.
