HONG KONG (SCMP): Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways is facing a backlash after more than 200 passengers were forced to remain in an aircraft in Bangkok for five hours when their flight was cancelled, and were then shuttled to a hotel with their passports taken away without explanation.
The Post has learned first-class and business-class passengers had an option to transfer to another flight and leave Bangkok, while others only had the choice to stay at a hotel and at least 10 people spent the night at the airport.
A passenger, who only identified herself by her surname, Lee, told the Post she and three friends had expected to depart on Monday from Bangkok to Hong Kong on flight CX630 at 4.55pm following a holiday.
Lee said she was among passengers still stranded at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport on Tuesday afternoon with no departure time in sight and her passport yet to be returned. The flight finally took off at 5.06pm on Tuesday after passengers were left stranded in Bangkok for 25 hours.
The flight on Monday initially had a four-hour delay as passengers did not get on board until 8pm.
“We were waiting in the plane for a few hours until there was an announcement at 11pm saying the flight could not take off. We were finally able to leave the flight before 2am,” said Lee, a 36-year-old designer.
“The airport arranged coaches to send us to the hotel. It was past 3am when we arrived there.
“What added to our anxiety was that the airport staff took away our passports and put wristbands on us.”
Cathay said some of the affected customers were transferred onto alternative flights, while others were offered overnight accommodation in Bangkok.
“In compliance with local regulations, the customers’ passports were required to be kept by the local authorities before their re-entry into Bangkok,” a company spokesman said.
“During the delay, we regularly informed our customers of the latest flight updates and provided them with appropriate assistance, including hotel accommodations, meals and transportation.”
Lee said passengers asked why their passports had been taken away, but the ground staff, who were not wearing Cathay uniforms, could not fluently communicate with them in English.
“They were holding our passports while saying something that we didn’t understand, then they gave us a claim check,” she said.
“We feel very insecure as they didn’t even have any official announcement and updates, nor did any Cathay staff support us at the hotel.”
Affected passengers spent a night at Amaranth Suvarnabhumi Hotel near the airport, she said.
“We were not even offered any food and water when we were stuck on the plane. There were at least 200 passengers affected. Only passengers from business class were offered ice cream,” Lee said.
“We kept on calling the Cathay customer service hotline to get the latest information. We didn’t sleep at all, just to wait for updates. We didn’t have food for the whole night and my friends were getting sick with a stomach ache,” Lee said.
The ground staff only told her there would be email updates on Tuesday early morning, she added.
A source told the Post the crew discovered a spoiler fault in the aircraft at 8pm local time and returned the plane to the boarding gate, while some first- and business-class passengers were transferred to flight CX674 to Hong Kong.
CX674, which was scheduled to depart at 3.05pm on Monday, finally left at 12.51am on Tuesday.
A business-class passenger, surnamed Chan, who boarded on CX674 but was downgraded to economy class, said the information at the airport was confusing while other passengers were agitated not knowing what was going on.
“I was at the lounge and a staff member told me CX630 would be able to take off, while CX674 would be delayed. I wasn’t even considering transitioning until a staff at the gate told me the opposite,” Chan, a 35-year-old project manager at a construction company, said.
“So I grabbed the opportunity although I didn’t know the criteria of being picked. And I only learned that I was downgraded after I was on board and I was really hungry.”
He called the customer service hotline when he arrived in Hong Kong for compensation, but was told his information was not found.
“The staff just told me he would talk to his supervisor and I finally received an email later confirming I was downgraded. But there are no details about compensation whatsoever, just telling me to wait for further notice,” he said.
A premium economy passenger, who identified himself as Sean, said the whole situation was chaotic in terms of information updates and passenger arrangements.
“One of my friends sitting in business class had the option to swap to another flight. When I knew I was stranded, I asked whether I could do the same or buy a ticket from another airline to leave. The ground staff took my passport and told me my only option was to stay a night at the hotel,” the 36-year-old doctor said.
“I don’t know how Cathay classified us into groups. The most terrifying part was not knowing what’s coming next. When I arrived at the airport in the afternoon [on Tuesday] again, I ran into 10 people from the economy class saying they spent the night at a lounge at the airport. They didn’t even know staying at a hotel was an option.”
He added the ground staff had provided passengers a breakfast coupon each worth 300 baht (US$9) but it could not be used as the validity expired on Monday.
An email seen by the Post revealed that flight CX630 encountered a technical issue while on the ground in Bangkok. Despite engineers rectifying the problem, the same fault reappeared after the aircraft left the departure gate.
The carrier, meanwhile, said it would compensate affected passengers with 10,000 Asia Miles. - South China Morning Post
