Passengers are furious after more than 200 were trapped on a Jetstar aircraft for more than 14 hours.
The flight to Melbourne from Thailand was diverted to Alice Springs in the Northern Territory on Saturday night because of a medical emergency.
Flight JQ30 left Bangkok at 9.30pm local time but changed path after a customer had a suspected stroke.
Then an electrical fault was detected on the Boeing 787, meaning a second plane was needed.
Customers were initially told they couldn’t leave the plane after it landed in the NT.
On top of that, the entertainment system had to be turned off to keep the plane cool.
As Alice Springs isn’t an international airport, travellers were kept on their first plane for more than seven hours.
Babies and parent were among the more than passengers grounded and stuck on board.
One passenger, William Kiss, said people were “very unhappy”.
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“Even if it was just a walk on the tarmac, people just want to get some fresh air,” he said.
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“We’ve been sitting on this plane with the flight time included for 14 hours.”
Some passengers were escorted off by authorities as tensions boiled over.
The rest were later allowed into a room at the airport and fed.
“They provided us with water, tea, coffee, then about two hours after that they provided us with some sandwiches,” William, said.
The new plane was expected to finally get them back to Melbourne on Sunday night.
Their bags will arrive on Monday as the Alice Springs airport cannot handle moving them onto the new plane.
Jetstar told 9News it will work with passengers demanding refunds on a case-by-case basis.
“We appreciate this has been a lengthy delay and apologise for this frustrating experience,” spokesperson said, in a statement.
“Safety is always our first priority, and 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.”
