Passengers waiting at the airport due to a delayed AirAsia flight. Reader provided
Due to the flight delay of the airline AirAsia Customer dissatisfaction is growing as no appropriate action is taken after the delay.
Han Hye-ji (29), who took AirAsia
Mr. Han said, “The flight departed at 7:35 a.m., but I was told (by an employee) that the exact departure time could not be known because the plane was undergoing regular inspection.” He added, “Afterwards, they gave each person a meal coupon worth 10,000 won and told them to arrive by 11 a.m. “I received it, but the plane did not depart even at 11 o’clock,” he said of the situation at the time.
Mr. Han continued, “As passengers continued to protest, some employees acknowledged the flight cancellation around 1 p.m. However, there was no official cancellation announcement until 2 p.m.”
Mr. Han, who could not continue waiting due to his travel plans, ended up booking the next flight at his own expense. Mr. Han said, “I heard from the airline that they would change my flight to the morning of the 18th. If that happened, my travel plans would be ruined, so I had no choice but to book the next, earliest flight directly on the spot.” Mr. Han was only able to leave the airport at 4 p.m., about 9 hours after the expected departure time.
Passenger A, who took the same flight, said, “At the time, the passengers had to find the next flight on their own without any guidance,” and added, “Foreign passengers who were not familiar with the situation were just wasting the day without even knowing what was going on.” Mr. A continued, “I asked for a refund, including the difference in ticket price, but he only responded that I should go to the Consumer Protection Agency.”
Passengers also claimed that the airline’s response was inadequate when they missed their connecting flights. Mr. Han had to transfer in Kuala Lumpur to go to his final destination, the Maldives. However, due to a delay in takeoff in Korea, I missed my connecting flight.
Mr. Han said, “When I asked what I should do if I miss my connecting flight, (the employee) said, ‘I sent an email to the local area, so I will inform you when I arrive.’” He added, “But when I actually arrived in Kuala Lumpur, they suddenly said that it was difficult to take responsibility because separate tickets were issued. “I heard what you said,” he said.
Mr. Han, who arrived at the site after midnight, said he had no choice but to book a hotel by himself. He said, “After 12 o’clock, I went to several hotels and finally got into one place. If the airline had told me in advance that they would not be able to provide accommodation at the transfer point in case of separate ticketing, it would have been difficult to make a reservation in advance and find accommodation in an unfamiliar place.” “I wouldn’t have had to do it,” he said.
He also said, “It was a honeymoon that I had been preparing for and looking forward to for a long time, but I did not arrive at my destination more than 40 hours after leaving home.” He added, “Not only did I lose my hotel worth 1.4 million won per day due to the airline’s poor response, but I also lost additional ticketing costs and hotel expenses at the transit point.” I even had to bear the cost. “Air Asia’s response was worse than the worst,” he complained.
Air Asia X is the Malaysian flag carrier and a representative low-cost carrier (LCC) in Southeast Asia. In September 2019, AirAsia
Reporter Lee Kang-min river@kmib.co.kr
