MELBOURNE, Australia — Passengers on a flight heading from Australia to Bali were furious when their plane turned around mid-flight and returned to Melbourne.
JetStar flight JQ35 had been in the air for approximately four hours and was beginning its descent into Bali when it was “denied landing” and turned back, ABC in Australia reported.
“The staff and also the passengers were confused as to why we had been denied landing,” Rafe Berding, a passenger, told ABC.
In a statement to The Guardian, JetStar said there was a “miscommunication” with regulators in Indonesia.
A spokesperson for the airline told 9News that the initial plane for the flight had been changed to a larger Boeing 787 to accommodate more passengers. “Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication, the aircraft swap was not approved by the local regulator in Indonesia,” the spokesperson said.
Berding told ABC that passengers were told the runways for larger planes were closed by the time the flight arrived.
“I think naturally people were annoyed about the instance, but more concerned as to why the airline and also local authorities hadn’t had that prior conversation and correspondence,” Berding said.
“We know this has been an extremely frustrating experience for customers and sincerely apologize for what happened,” JetStar said in its statement to The Guardian. “While customers wait for their new flight, we’re providing them with hotel rooms and meal vouchers, and we’ll cover additional airport transport costs.”
JetStar also offered passengers a $200 travel voucher, The Guardian reported.
Some passengers were not satisfied, saying the failed flight forced them to miss weddings and vacations.
“You can’t get compensation for that,” one passenger told ABC.
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