Malaysia Airlines Passengers on Auckland-KL Flight Remain Stranded

9th Oct 2015

Malaysia Airlines Bhd passengers that were supposed to fly on MH130 flight from Auckland to Kuala Lumpur will have to change whatever plans they had for when they touch the ground, as many of them remain stranded on the airport due to their flight being canceled for “technical issues”.

Some of the Passengers Remain on the Airport for 36 Hours

The travelers, some of which are now nearing 36 hours on the airport, are now waiting for a replacement flight, but many are complaining about the company’s lack of information.

Malaysia Airlines did issue a statement on Friday, saying that MH130 travelers are to be rescheduled onto another flight. However, MH132 will depart Auckland at 1:15 a.m. on Saturday, which means a couple more hours waiting for the travelers.

MAB said in a statement about this:

Safety is of the utmost importance. Malaysia Airlines regrets the disruption to passengers’ travel plans.

The airline also said that it has sent an engineering team to fix the Airbus A330-300.

Some of the passengers were already sent to other airlines.

MAB Initially Delayed the Flight 30 Minutes

According to one would-be-passenger from Auckland, the initial delay was only half an hour, but then it grew to one hour. Then the passengers were informed the flight would take off on Friday at 3:00 a.m.

Instead of simply leaving them at the Auckland airport, MAB booked travelers into local hotels, or gave them taxi vouchers if they resided nearby. The company also took phone numbers to inform customers in case there are any updates on the 3:00 a.m. flight.

However, the passenger from Auckland said the call never came and that she only learned about the delay from the Auckland Airport website.

The Scene is ‘Chaotic’, Says One Passanger

She dubbed the whole situation ‘chaotic’ and said:

I see people with young children, nearly in tears. One boy, who was traveling, has missed his exams. That’s a year of school he’s lost. There was no one to take responsibility or to take charge of the situation.

She also said that MAB never officially said the flight is canceled and added:

It’s absolutely unprofessional behaviour. There’s a better way of talking and handling people.

Many of the travelers were rebooked onto a Qantas flight to Melbourne. However, their problem now is getting to Kuala Lumpur from Australia.