Elderly man claims he was told AirAsia flight departed an hour early, sparking online debate
An elderly man was allegedly unable to board his AirAsia flight in Malaysia after being told it had departed an hour earlier than scheduled, according to a Facebook post that has since sparked debate online.
In a post shared on Tuesday (24 Feb) in the Airasia Flight Share Information group, the man’s son said his father was scheduled to fly from Kuching to Penang on flight AK5436 at 8.25pm that day.
However, airline staff allegedly informed him that the flight had already taken off at 7pm, leaving him unable to travel.
Source: Airasia Flight Share Information on Facebook
The son said his father had been at the airport since the afternoon and was already waiting at the boarding gate from 6pm.
He added that his father is not very proficient at reading and would remain seated at the gate until it was time to board, based on the flight timing they were given.
Family says they were not informed of 7pm departure
Addressing speculation that they may have missed a schedule change, the son said they received an email on 20 Feb stating that the departure time had been brought forward by 20 minutes, followed by another on 23 Feb indicating that it had reverted to the original 8.25pm timing.
However, he maintained that they did not receive any notification stating the flight had been rescheduled to 7pm.
Source: Airasia Flight Share Information on Facebook
Expressing frustration, he wrote: “They think we have money to buy [a plane ticket] two or three times.”
He added that his father called him at 8.25pm to say staff had informed him the flight had already left at 7pm and that nothing could be done.
Flight tracking data indicates on-time departure
Several netizens pointed out that flight tracking websites showed AK5436 departing at 8.25pm as scheduled.
Source: Flight Aware
Some also suggested the elderly man may have checked in late, but his son reiterated that his father had been waiting at the gate since 6pm.
“My father is not a very good reader,” he explained, adding that his father followed the timing stated in the booking details they had received.
Source: Airasia Flight Share Information on Facebook
Other netizens share similar experiences
One netizen said they had previously experienced a schedule change without receiving any notification.
They alleged that their flight from Kota Kinabalu to Kuching was rescheduled without any email, SMS, or in-app alert.
Source: Facebook
Upon arriving at the counter, they were told the flight had been cancelled and were asked to take the next morning’s flight instead.
The user said they escalated the matter until a manager intervened and, after showing proof that no notification had been received, were provided with hotel accommodation for the night.
Netizen suggests possible misunderstanding
Another netizen speculated that the situation may have stemmed from a “misunderstanding”.
They suggested staff might have mistaken the elderly man’s booking for an earlier flight, possibly one departing at 7pm on a different route.
Source: Facebook
The commenter added that staff should have verified the flight number and route carefully before informing him that the flight had departed.
They noted that this was their personal assumption based on other comments indicating the 8.25pm flight was still operating at the time.
Many netizens expressed hope that the airline would offer the elderly man a replacement flight. Others advised the family to consider purchasing travel insurance in future to mitigate potential losses in similar situations.
MS News has reached out to AirAsia for a statement.
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Featured image adapted from Airasia Flight Share Information on Facebook.
