Passengers yet to receive luggage after they were stranded on plane for seven hours
Passengers who were left stranded on an aircraft at Alice Springs Airport for seven hours say they are still yet to receive their luggage.
Flight JQ30 with 320 passengers aboard was flying from Bangkok to Melbourne on Saturday when it had to be diverted to Alice Springs after one passenger suffered a suspected stroke.
When that passenger was taken off at Alice Springs for medical treatment, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner was meant to take off and resume its flight to Melbourne.
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Passengers on the Jetstar flight were able to leave the aircraft after spending seven hours stuck on the tarmac at Alice Springs airport. Nine
But an electrical fault was then detected on the Boeing 787, meaning a second plane had to be flown in.
Customers were told they couldn't leave the plane after it landed in the Northern Territory because Alice Springs Airport isn't an international airport and lacks the customs and security clearance facilities to process the passengers.
It left the passengers stuck on the tarmac with limited food and no in-flight entertainment for seven hours while they waited for the replacement plane.
They eventually were escorted off the plane into a room at the terminal before boarding the replacement plane and touching down in Melbourne after 11pm yesterday.
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Babies and parent were among the more than passengers grounded and stuck on board. Nine
Jetstar apologised to the passengers for their "difficult experience" but said it had to be conscious of safety.
Passengers will have to wait until tomorrow morning for their luggage to arrive as there was no equipment to transfer bags from the Boeing 787-8 aircraft.
Jetstar said it would consider refunds on a case-by-case basis.
Two passengers Sauda Islam and Zalyana Karim told Today this morning the incident had been an "ordeal" and Jetstar could have handled the episode better.
"You can imagine there were like elderly passengers, little kids, there was a few babies," Islam said.
"Everyone was getting really antsy, stuck in then closed space, it is getting hotter in the back, so it wasn't pleasant."
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Two passengers Sauda Islam and Zalyana Karim told Today this morning the incident had been an "ordeal" and Jetstar could have handled the episode better. Today
Karim said there had been a lack of communication from the airline.
"We had to actively go and search them out and ask them what is happening with our flight, what is happening with our flight, what is is happening with our baggage?"
Babies and parent were among the more than passengers grounded and stuck on board.
One passenger, William Kiss, said people were "very unhappy".
"Even if it was just a walk on the tarmac, people just want to get some fresh air," he said.
"We've been sitting on this plane with the flight time included for 14 hours."
There were reports some passengers were escorted off by NT police as tensions boiled over.
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Passengers were eventually transferred to the small terminal at Alice Springs airport before they resumed their journey to Melbourne on a replacement Jetstar plane. Nine
Jetstar's full statement on Flight JQ30
"Safety is always our 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.
"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. We worked with the airport to provide drinks and food.
"When the replacement aircraft arrived, passengers were transferred directly onto the replacement aircraft which landed in Melbourne just after 11pm last night.
"We appreciate this has been a lengthy delay and apologise to passengers for the difficult experience. We thank passengers for their patience and understanding as we supported the passenger requiring urgent medical assistance and worked to get everyone else on their way as quickly as possible."
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