Gumleaf
January 31st, 2008, 07:08 PM
Friday Feb 1 09:27 AEDT
By Rajeshni Naidu with wires
ninemsn
Hundreds of airline passengers were left stranded on the footpath outside Sydney Airport overnight after officials enforced a curfew in the wake of a severe electrical storm.
Four domestic Jetstar flights were cancelled and passengers booked on evening services to Melbourne, the Gold Coast and Launceston were caught up in a bureaucratic tangle involving the airline and airport authorities.
As a result, Jetstar passengers said they were turned out of Terminal Two when the airport started closing its doors at the curfew time of 11pm.
However, a Sydney Airport spokesperson said the closing time was extended to 1am and passengers were invited to the International Airport 24-hour waiting lounge.
"Announcement were made that a 24-hour waiting area was available in the International Terminal and some Jetstar passengers went there."
The spokesperson said at 1am there were approximately 20 Jetstar passengers still in the terminal and no Jetstar staff were present.
A Jetstar spokesman said some passengers in need of a hotel room were accommodated but stressed that the airline's policy did not require it to assist passengers inconvenienced by adverse weather.
"As a condition of carriage for weather-related delays, we're not compelled to find accommodation," Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway said.
"We want to know the reasons as to why the terminal was shut - to leave people on the footpath rather than inside the terminal, even if they were in a secure area," he said. "Unfortunately it was out of our hands."
Consumer watchdog CHOICE spokesperson Christopher Zinn said there is some buck passing about who is responsible for the passengers.
"In this industry where the carriers do a song and dance about customer service, you would hope they would have better communication with service providers and the travelling public when a situation like this occurs," he said.
"Airlines promote themselves heavily for luxurious treatment and smiling cabin crew, they've got to make sure that they can fulfil that promise."
Mr Zinn said passengers often don't read the terms of carriage and expect a higher level of comfort.
"The airlines reserve the right do to whatever they can in adverse conditions — most people have to read the fine print," he said.
Mr Westaway said the stranded passengers resumed their journeys on flights as early as 6am today and he expected all 300 would be on their way by noon.
©AAP 2008
By Rajeshni Naidu with wires
ninemsn
Hundreds of airline passengers were left stranded on the footpath outside Sydney Airport overnight after officials enforced a curfew in the wake of a severe electrical storm.
Four domestic Jetstar flights were cancelled and passengers booked on evening services to Melbourne, the Gold Coast and Launceston were caught up in a bureaucratic tangle involving the airline and airport authorities.
As a result, Jetstar passengers said they were turned out of Terminal Two when the airport started closing its doors at the curfew time of 11pm.
However, a Sydney Airport spokesperson said the closing time was extended to 1am and passengers were invited to the International Airport 24-hour waiting lounge.
"Announcement were made that a 24-hour waiting area was available in the International Terminal and some Jetstar passengers went there."
The spokesperson said at 1am there were approximately 20 Jetstar passengers still in the terminal and no Jetstar staff were present.
A Jetstar spokesman said some passengers in need of a hotel room were accommodated but stressed that the airline's policy did not require it to assist passengers inconvenienced by adverse weather.
"As a condition of carriage for weather-related delays, we're not compelled to find accommodation," Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway said.
"We want to know the reasons as to why the terminal was shut - to leave people on the footpath rather than inside the terminal, even if they were in a secure area," he said. "Unfortunately it was out of our hands."
Consumer watchdog CHOICE spokesperson Christopher Zinn said there is some buck passing about who is responsible for the passengers.
"In this industry where the carriers do a song and dance about customer service, you would hope they would have better communication with service providers and the travelling public when a situation like this occurs," he said.
"Airlines promote themselves heavily for luxurious treatment and smiling cabin crew, they've got to make sure that they can fulfil that promise."
Mr Zinn said passengers often don't read the terms of carriage and expect a higher level of comfort.
"The airlines reserve the right do to whatever they can in adverse conditions — most people have to read the fine print," he said.
Mr Westaway said the stranded passengers resumed their journeys on flights as early as 6am today and he expected all 300 would be on their way by noon.
©AAP 2008