Jetstar passengers fume after being left stuck on parked plane for 7 hours
Jetstar has responded after 320 frustrated passengers were stranded and trapped on a plane for more than seven hours after their journey was hit with successive dramas.
Flight JQ-30 bound for Melbourne left Bangkok at 9.30pm (local time) on Saturday night, but due to a passenger experiencing what is believed to be a stroke on board, the plane was forced to divert and make a priority landing in Alice Springs.
It was there that Jetstar discovered there was "an electrical fault" on the plane while it was on the ground. Because the Alice Springs airport did not have a customs desk, passengers were required to wait on the plane for more than seven hours rather than being permitted inside the airport.
"Still in Alice springs 17 hours after we left Bangkok," passenger William Kiss complained on Instagram.
"Even if it was just a walk on the tarmac, people just want to get some fresh air," he also told 9News.
Another passenger, Jacqueline Felgate, said on social media that "passengers were having panic attacks on the plane" and "several children under 3 years old were on onboard."
Jetstar respond to plane being diverted
In a statement to Yahoo News Australia, a Jetstar spokeswoman said "safety is always (the airline's) first priority".
"We thank passengers for their understanding and apologise to them for the impact to their journey when we had to divert to Alice Springs to support a passenger requiring urgent medical assistance after they experienced a suspected stroke on board.
"Upon arrival into Alice Springs the passenger was taken to hospital by ambulance."
It is unclear what the passenger's current condition is.
The airline also explained the reason passengers weren't able to leave the plane for hours.
"Being a domestic airport Alice Springs does not have customs processing facilities, and when there was a further delay as a result of an electrical fault while the aircraft was on the ground, we worked with Border Agencies, the NT Police and the local Airport Authority to give passengers the option to disembark into a specially partitioned section of the Airport," the company said in the statement.
"We worked with the airport to provide drinks and food."
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Following a 14 hour wait at Alice Springs Airport, a second plane arrived at 9.30pm on Sunday night to take passengers to Melbourne.
"When the replacement aircraft arrived, passengers were transferred directly onto the replacement aircraft which landed in Melbourne just after 11pm last night," Jetstar said.
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