SINGAPORE: Jetstar passengers in Singapore who were due to travel to Melbourne on Thursday (Jan 31) have had their flight delayed for 35 hours following an engineering issue with the aircraft.
A Jetstar spokesperson told Channel NewsAsia on Friday that flight JQ8 was scheduled to depart Changi Airport on Jan 31. The Boeing B787 was originally due to depart at 8pm.
AdvertisementThe spokesperson said the flight was first delayed due to an engineering issue which required spare parts to be flown in from Australia. The flight was then delayed for a second time when the spare parts did not pass through customs.
An affected passenger, who did not wish to be identified, told Channel NewsAsia that the flight was first delayed for 24 hours to 8pm the following day. The passenger said Jetstar informed them of the delay less than an hour before departure.
The flight is now scheduled to depart at 7am on Feb 2.
The Jetstar spokesperson said the airline has been in contact with all affected passengers and also provided accommodation and meal vouchers, or the option for a full refund.
AdvertisementAdvertisement“Unfortunately due to the Chinese New Year holiday we were unable to provide alternative flights options due to all scheduled flights being at capacity.
“We understand delays are very frustrating and apologise sincerely to our customers who were impacted by this delay, however safety is always our first priority,” Jetstar said.
The affected passenger, who is a Singapore resident, said Jetstar’s offers of reimbursement and compensation were only for non-residents.
MISSED A WEDDING DUE TO DELAYS
Another passenger, who only wanted to be known as Ms Ling, said she and her travelling companion would be missing a good friend's wedding due to the repeated delays.
“Its our very good friend’s wedding and we all are bridesmaids - she now has to change her arrangement. We are going to miss main ceremony and only be able to make the dinner.
"We feel terrible because this was something we were looking forward to … We wasted a lot of time and had to change our plans in Melbourne. All the other flights tonight were also fully booked," she said.
Ms Ling added that Jetstar's ground staff did not provide sufficient information about the delays.
“The way it was handled in general was very unprofessional because of the lack of information. The ground staff were very nice in handling the frustrations but they couldn’t give us the answers we want.”
This is not the first time Jetstar flight JQ8 from Singapore to Melbourne has been delayed due to an engineering issue.
According to a report by TODAY Online, more than 320 passengers were delayed for almost 30 hours in December when an engineering issue with the aircraft “required spare parts to be flown from Australia”.
A passenger told the news agency that the flight was originally scheduled to depart on Dec 20 at 8pm. The flight’s departure time was then pushed back several times before it finally departed on Dec 22 at 1.30am.
Additional reporting by Matthew Mohan
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