What happened on board my Qantas flight from hell: ‘We just wanted to get off’
What happened on board my Qantas flight from hell: ‘We just wanted to get off’
Fed up Qantas passengers who were forced to sit on the tarmac for six hours before their flight was finally canceled have hit out at the airline.
Flight QF93 from Melbourne to Los Angeles was canceled at 3am on Tuesday after it was decided the plane was too heavy to take off due to high winds.
The doomed flight was already delayed before the customers boarded.
Qantas customer Caitley had already traveled five hours from regional NSW that day and only arrived at her hotel at 6am for some much-needed rest.
‘We just wanted to get out. We were tired, there was no water, we weren’t even offered food, we weren’t allowed to get out of our seats,” she told 3AW radio.
Fed up Qantas passengers who were forced to sit on a tarmac for six hours before their flight was finally canceled have hit out at the airline
(Stock image) Flight QF93 from Melbourne to Los Angeles was canceled at 3am on Tuesday after it was decided the plane was too heavy to take off due to high winds
Caitley said passengers became increasingly frustrated with each hour they spent on the tarmac, with the pilot providing updates every half hour.
She waited another hour at the airport before taking a taxi to a hotel in the city, both paid for by Qantas.
“We didn’t go to bed until six this morning,” she said.
‘We left home at 11.30 yesterday morning, so it was quite a journey to cover only 500 kilometres.’
Another passenger, Pip, slammed Qantas for ‘never being on the front foot’.
“This isn’t their first rodeo, they had no contingency plan and they never get ahead of themselves,” she said.
“You have to call them, you have to chase them, you have to be the one trying to get your compensation or get your complaint in.”
Pip said passengers were offered the option of flying to Los Angeles ahead of their luggage before the flight was ultimately cancelled.
A Qantas spokesperson has since apologized for the inconvenience caused to customers.
Passengers were given the option to fly to Los Angeles ahead of their luggage before the doomed flight was ultimately canceled
“The aircraft arrived late in Melbourne after a weather-delayed departure from Britain and subsequently experienced further problems, including runway works and bad weather, which affected the take-off,” the spokesperson said.
‘Passengers were provided with refreshments on board, but further refreshments were not available as the aircraft prepared to take off.
“Qantas provided overnight accommodation and transport for customers and they will board a new flight on Tuesday evening.”
Passengers were asked to leave the plane and return to the terminal, where they were given vouchers for a hotel stay or a taxi fare.
Melbourne Airport was carrying out maintenance on the north-south runway, leaving only the shorter runway available.
The works have been going on since November.