16 July 2008

Bed shortage leaves passengers stranded

A news.com.au report says that hotel bed shortages in Darwin are to blame for a Jetstar flight being grounded for 13 hours yesterday, say airline officials.

The Darwin-Brisbane flight, due to leave the tarmac at 1.40am yesterday, was delayed because of bad fog at Brisbane airport, but during the delay the crew's shift time limit ran out and Jetstar could not find accommodation to rest them in Darwin.

Northlakes grandmother Michelle Cody complained that the stranded passengers were not kept informed of what was happening, saying, "There's not the offer of a drop of water, not a cup of tea, not a broadcast saying this is what's happening, nothing.Ã¢â¬~

Ms Cody, 53, who was flying to Brisbane for a relative's funeral, said they were put back on the plane at 4am but then told to get off after an hour. Another boarding just before noon also proved to be a false alarm.

The plane finally took off about 3pm.

Jetstar corporate communications manager Simone Pregellio apologised to the inconvenienced passengers, saying, "While working through alternatives while holding the aircraft on the ground, we ran out of crew hours," she said.

"We made all attempts to find accommodation for the passengers and crew Ã¢â¬' but all of Darwin was booked out."

Jetstar crew members have a 12-hour shift limit after which they must be rested.

The trip between Brisbane and Darwin takes 4 1/2 hours each way, plus about 40 minutes turnaround time at Darwin airport, but if a delay takes more than two hours and 20 minutes it will turn into a problem, with a new crew needing to be flown in.

Ms Pregellio confirmed more than 30 passengers were asked to leave the flight so it could handle the bad weather with less weight, but this plan was then aborted when the crew hours ran out.

A Report by The Mole from news.com.au