On Wednesday (13 March), 161 passengers were stranded at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok for over 12 hours after a Jetstar Asia flight heading to Singapore was delayed.
Describing the scene as “chaotic”, one of the passengers said that the airline had cancelled the flight at one point.
The airline has apologised for the incident, stating that it moved affected passengers to alternative Jetstar services.
According to Shin Min Daily News, Jetstar flight 3K516 would have intially left Suvarnabhumi Airport at 12:35pm local time on 13 March.
Source: Airport Technology
One of the passengers, 37-year-old Mr Yu, said the flight was first delayed until 5.20pm that evening. However, the airline then kept delaying the timing.
He added that after the aircraft arrived at the Bangkok airport, it parked on the tarmac for three hours. Staff said there was a technical problem, with the pilot failing pre-departure tests twice.
Stranded at the airport, the passengers began to ask airport staff for an explanation.
Unfortunately, they did not get any answers.
“We waited until 7pm to be told that the boarding gate had been changed,” he said.
“It wasn’t until around 10pm that we were told that the flight was cancelled. There was not even a broadcast announcing the delay. We only found out after we checked on our own.”
Mr Yu also noted that the delay affected the passengers boarding transit flights from Singapore.
“I heard that someone was going to transfer flights to attend his father’s funeral, but was delayed. Many people were very dissatisfied and the scene was chaotic,” he explained.
Shin Min Daily News reports that footage and photos of the incident showed more than a hundred passengers waiting in the airport.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
One such video showed a long queue in front of a counter at the airport, with passengers looking anxious.
Another passenger on the flight, Ms Lian, 29, said she heard that the plane had a leak in the hydraulic system. The airline then delayed the flight after being unable to repair the leak.
“We didn’t leave the airport until 1am,” she said.
She also shared that the airline eventually informed them of the change in flight time to 9pm local time on Thursday (14 March).
Speaking to MS News, a spokesperson from Jetstar Asia said that flight 3K516, departing from Bangkok to Singapore on 13 March, experienced a delay of more than 24 hours.
This was due to a technical fault that the airline discovered in a routine pre-departure inspection.
“All customers were moved to alternative Jetstar services and have arrived in Singapore,” the spokesperson said.
“During the delay, customers were offered accommodation, transportation, and meal vouchers, and for customers who no longer wished to fly, the option of a full refund was also made available.”
“We sincerely apologise for the frustration and inconvenience caused by this delay,” added the spokesperson.
“The safety of our customers is our first priority, and our team is working hard to get everyone to their destination as soon as possible.”
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News.
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