Jetstar has said “sorry” to thousands of passengers whose travel plans were disrupted by the cancellation of eight return flights between Melbourne and Sydney and Denpasar since the beginning of September.
Problems ranging from lightning and bird strikes to a missing spare part have been blamed for the last-minute flight cancellations to and from Indonesia, Thailand and Japan that have affected travellers.
A Jetstar spokesperson said the airline’s Boeing 787 fleet was impacted by multiple issues, including a lightning strike, a bird strike, damage from an item on the runway and delays sourcing a specific spare part due to global supply chain challenges.
The spokesperson also said the low-cost carrier had accommodated the majority of affected passengers and was working to find alternatives for about 200 more.
Furious passengers vented their frustrations on social media with some reporting multiple flight cancellations in the same day, no alternative flights for up to five days and limited access to customer service.
It comes after recent reports of Australian Jetstar passengers stuck overnight at Tokyo’s Narita Airport without food and water due to strict COVID-19 border controls.
There were also reports of domestic flight delays and cancellations across Australia on Monday 5 September from Jetstar and Qantas passengers.
Qantas apologised last month after complaints from passengers who had flights delayed or cancelled, faced long queues at airports and lost baggage in recent months.
Next week Qantas, Emirates and Etihad face potential delays as baggage handlers are set to take strike action.
Ground handlers from Dnata, who are contracted to Qantas and more than a dozen other carriers, will walk off the job for 24 hours next Monday.
Via AAP
