Passengers falling victim to repeated delays by VietJet Air on Sunday had to “lie as a potato” on the floor around terminals to wait for their services to start, they complained to Tuoi Tre.
Some passengers also had to sleep at airports due to inconsistent announcements from the airliner as to when the flights would officially depart, they said. N.H.L., one such passenger, said her VJ8383 flight from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City was expected to take off at 4:25 p.m. on June 2.
But at 12:30pm, passengers were informed that the flight had been delayed to 8:20 p.m., she said.
“However, we were told that it would be delayed again till 9:55 p.m., but as of 10 p.m., there were still no flights,” she added.
The passengers thus gathered in groups and asked for an official response from VJA over the issue. However, the explanation was unreasonable, L. said.
“Delays are unexpected issues for the airliners, but VJA should have treated its passengers better,” another passenger on the same flight wrote to Tuoi Tre.
At 11:10 p.m., VJA released an official announcement, which unfortunately turned the passengers down again, according to L.
The announcement stated that as many as three VJA flights would be delayed, including VJ8383 (departing at 12:40 a.m.), VJ8387 (12:45 a.m.), and VJ8389 (12:50 a.m.).
The frustration did not end there, as passengers on the VJ8387 flight were allowed to board before those of VJ8383, contrary to the schedule, a passenger said.
VJ8383 was thus delayed for as long as eight hours, a period during which many passengers had no choice but to stay at the terminal.
Meanwhile, N.H.N.T., a passenger from HCMC, said her VJA flight from Hanoi to the city on Sunday was also delayed from the expected departure time of 11:40 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. the following day.
There were three delays announced that night, she recalled.
T. repeatedly contacted the VJA office to ask for support, but was only told to “sympathize for the airliner and wait for the planes to arrive due to technical issues,” she said.
Workforce issue
VJA director of business development Desmond Lin said the airliner apologized to its passengers for the delayed flights on June 2.
VJA does not have an adequate workforce to take care of all activities at the terminals, and thus has to rely on outsourcing forces, he said.
He added, “Several employees may have behaved inappropriately, which caused misunderstanding and anger among passengers.”
The issue is also related to VJA’s lack of aircraft, according to the director.
Two new planes were expected to arrive on May 31, but the aircraft came one day late because of procedures in the Philippines, he said.
“Each VJA airplane is deployed for as many as six flights a day, so the late arrival of the new ones has negatively affected passengers,” he admitted.
Lin said VJA also followed the state regulations to compensate for the passengers.
Seventeen passengers asked to exchange their tickets for other flights on June 2, and were refunded VND300,000 each, while those choosing to wait at the terminals were served free meals and water, he said.
Đăng ký: VietNam News