Aussies stranded in Tokyo following Jetstar flight cancellation

Aussies stranded in Tokyo following Jetstar flight cancellation
By James Harrison


A group of Aussies have been left stranded in a Tokyo airport overnight after Jetstar cancelled a connecting flight from Finland to Australia.

Gordon Knight was stopping over at Narita International Airport with his partner on the way to the Gold Coast when he and 20 others were stopped at the departure gate, according to ABC News. The travellers were perplexed as no flight details were listed and no staff were present to assist the confused passengers.

To make the situation worse, the passengers were not allowed to leave the airport to enter hotels due to COVID travel restrictions, leaving them stranded in a cordoned-off section of the mostly shutdown airport terminal without food or water.

“We were left to fend for ourselves,” Knight said.

“[Jetstar] didn’t have bottles of water for us, didn’t have any food for us, all of the shops were closed, and we were forced to sleep without a pillow or a blanket.”

Japan’s tight COVID restrictions mean that visitors can only enter with a visa and a negative COVID test, meaning that these passengers could not leave the airport. But Jetstar reportedly wasn’t aware of this and the passengers were told to find themselves accommodation for the evening, according to Knight.

“They were entirely unaware of the COVID situation,” he said.

“We pointed out to them that we couldn’t do that.

“It wasn’t until about midnight that one of the staffers finally came back to us and said that they’d been unable to find any of these items. Jetstar had not prepared for something that they should have known was going to be inevitable.”

Jetstar said that the plane was delayed for 24 hours due to an engineering issue.

“We sincerely apologise to our customers for the inconvenience caused,” a statement from Jetstar said.

“We are working with Narita airport to determine how we can better accommodate transiting passengers during disruptions like this one.”

Jetstar, alongside its parent company Qantas, has received large amounts of negative press concerning cancelled and delayed flights. Data from the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics revealed only 63 per cent of Qantas, Virgin, Jetstar and Rex flights arrived on time in June.

Earlier this month, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce apologised to customers for the airlines poor performance and offered frequent flyers discounts, points, and other rewards.

“There are good reasons why, but when it comes to what you expect from Qantas, it’s not good enough,” Joyce said.

“On behalf of the national carrier, I want to apologise and assure you that we’re working hard to get back to our best.”

Featured Image: Twitter/@GordonIKnight

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