Read the article if they had not taken off at that time they wouldn’t have made the return flight in time (Zurich airport has no landings past midnight). So not flying means that 111 people would not make it to Bilbao (without their bags) and a similar amount of people wouldn’t make it to Zurich (with their bags).
Personally, I would rather take the flight and get my bag a day or two later. Annoying af yes but at least you get some compensation to get some clothes.
If half the people are flying home it’s not even that big of a problem.