Passengers stranded in Perth as Qantas flights axed
A report in the Sydney Morning Herald and on location by The Mole says that scores of Sydney-bound passengers were stranded at Perth Airport after arriving to find their 11.45am flight cancelled yesterday morning.
Qantas suffered the double whammy of not only the 747 400 “Classic†scheduled to operate the Sydney service having a technical difficulty, but also The Mole was told that that the engineers in Perth were not willing to work on the aircraft prior to their walkout at 11:00am and by the time they returned to work at 3:00pm to work on the aircraft, even if could be repaired immediately, it would miss the curfew in Sydney.
Passengers could therefore potentially be looking at around a 12 hr delay, with Qantas desperately trying to get passengers on flights during the day.
The Sydney Morning Herald report said Rose Bay woman Natalie, who did not want her last name revealed, said she had not yet been told how she was going to get home after Qantas flight QF580 was scrapped.
The airline is reeling today from a series of strikes by engineers over pay.
“We registered online yesterday for email alerts of delays and cancellations but we didn’t receive any from Qantas,” Natalie said.
“Getting to the airport to find your flight has been cancelled is unacceptable.”
Natalie said some of her 11 colleagues, in Perth on an events management assignment, had worked for 24 hours straight on their project and were desperate to get some sleep.
“But no one’s told us anything,” she said from Perth Airport. “There’s only one person at a desk and [all the passengers] look very angry.
“We are lining up, trying to check our bags in but we might have to stay overnight. We don’t know.”
Qantas has been contacted for comment about the cancelled flight.
Earlier today, a spokeswoman warned that further cancellations on top of the 18 expected today were possible.
But she said passengers would be notified in any event.
“We have currently cancelled 18 but we are saying further cancellations and consolidation may be required as the day progresses,” she said.
“We are monitoring the situation and contacting all affected passengers.”
She said “consolidation” referred to juggling flight schedules, for example combining two half-empty flights into one.
Qantas confirmed that 22 flights on its Melbourne routes were cancelled today, the majority on the Sydney-Melbourne route.
Qantas engineers are campaigning for a 5 per cent pay rise but Qantas is steadfastly sticking to its offer of 3 per cent.
The Mole was fortunate in having checked in early and due to the efforts of excellent Qantas staff and managers Terri and Stacey, managed to get on an earlier 767 flight to Sydney, which was chokkers.
A Report by The Mole and from the Sydney Morning Herald
John Alwyn-Jones
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