China Airlines flight CI-153 was scheduled to arrive at Taoyuan Airport in Taiwan on Thursday (25 July) afternoon.
However, the flight was delayed until 2am on Friday (26 July) due to Typhoon Gaemi.
After disembarking from the plane, passengers waited about two and a half hours for their luggage, prompting protests from over a hundred people.
Source: 黃泰錡 on Facebook
Facebook user 黃泰錡, who was one of the passengers affected, posted three videos showing the chaotic situation at the information desk of China Airlines.
“The plane arrived, but no one was moving the luggage. We waited from 2am to 4.30am for the luggage, and there was chaos inside. There was no handling or explanation,” wrote the OP in the caption.
“Passengers were left waiting for two hours. When asked, they said Taoyuan Airport staff had finished work, but why did the later flights receive their luggage smoothly?”
According to the passenger, who was “shocked” by the way the crisis was managed, they were told to wait until 5am for the staff to start work.
Passengers had demanded explanations for the delayed arrival of their luggage, with some asking for compensation from China Airlines.
An airline supervisor then informed them that the company could not offer any compensation, which enraged the passengers, reported ETtoday.
The situation ultimately led to the supervisor kneeling to the passengers in apology.
“Don’t kneel, we want compensation. We have been waiting for three hours,” said one of the passengers.
Source: 黃泰錡 on Facebook
In response, Taoyuan Airport stated on Friday morning that the delay in the arrival of the passengers’ luggage was because of Typhoon Gaemi.
It added that although additional manpower had been deployed and overtime arrangements made due to the typhoon’s impact on flight schedules, poor night-time weather slowed down operations.
Simultaneous arrivals of many flights increased workload, and manpower was limited, causing baggage handling delays for about eight flights.
The airport apologised for the inconvenience and promised to review and improve manpower allocation and procedures during adverse weather conditions.
China Airlines expressed gratitude to all frontline staff for their dedication despite the typhoon’s impact causing delays in flights and luggage.
It also hoped the public would understand the staff’s difficulties during the typhoon and apologised for not meeting all passenger needs.
Also read: Scoot Flight Departs To S’pore 4 Hours Ahead Of Time, Airline Apologises To 29 Stranded Passenger
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Featured image adapted from 黃泰錡 on Facebook.
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