It should go to Bali
Crazy eight hour flight from Melbourne to Melbourne
Curious incident in Australia: A machine started in Melbourne and landed back in Melbourne after eight hours. The plane was actually supposed to land in Bali.
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Actually, the Jetstar machine should fly to Bali. (icon picture)
Passengers of the Australian airline Jetstar are pissed off. On December 27, they wanted to leave Melbourne for vacation on the Indonesian island of Bali. Flight time around five hours. But even before the start, the first problems arose. A foretaste of what was to come.
The Boeing 787-8 took off at 11:14 p.m. with a delay of five hours, as reported by “Yahoo News Australia”. Finally we went to Bali. But before the plane could actually leave the country, the machine turned off again at the Australian coast. It was back to Melbourne.
Flight observers on Facebook did not miss this abrupt change of course. They debated the reasons for this curious maneuver. Is it the weather conditions in Indonesia or a technical defect? After landing in Melbourne, the airline clarified.
“We have swapped the Melbourne to Bali flight for a larger Boeing 787 to carry more customers over the holiday period,” said an airline spokesman. “Due to a communication error, the change to a larger aircraft was unfortunately not approved by the local regulator in Indonesia.” They were not given permission to land.
“Worst travel experience of my life”
The airline has now launched an investigation to understand how this communication glitch could have happened. The hundreds of passengers were rebooked on a later flight and otherwise compensated.
«While customers wait for their new flight, we provide them with hotel rooms and meal vouchers and cover the additional costs of transport to the airport. We’re also offering them a $200 travel voucher.”
The gifts can only minimally alleviate the anger of the passengers. On Twitter they choose clear words. “Thank you Jetstar Airways for the worst travel experience of my life,” wrote one passenger. Another passenger wrote: “After our original flight was cancelled, the second flight was delayed and we returned to Melbourne just an hour before landing, that was it [Boden-]Staff unresponsive and unhelpful. A truly shocking service. Never again.” (abbot)