Hundreds of Australians preparing to reunite with their families for Christmas experienced confusion after three major airlines canceled and rescheduled dozens of flights on Christmas Eve.
Australia’s busiest route between Sydney and Melbourne was most affected as Jetstar and Virgin Australia canceled 22 flights between the two cities on December 24th.
Both airlines have also canceled or rescheduled more than 20 flights between major cities and the Gold Coast, Adelaide and Brisbane.
Meanwhile, some Qantas services were canceled due to demand and all passengers were re-detained on the flight in a short period of time.
A Virgin Australia spokesman said the airline canceled the flight at the beginning of the week, but all customers moved to another flight with no one left behind.
Meanwhile, passengers on Jetstar, a subsidiary of Qantas, were notified by 9 pm on December 23. At this time, many customers were sleeping in bed for an early morning flight, and the airline’s customer service line closed at 10 pm.
A Jetstar spokesperson said the problem was due to crew availability and apologized for the delay in canceling the flight.
“Unfortunately, given the growing number of cases in the general community, as with many in Sydney and Melbourne, many frontline team members need to be tested and quarantined as close contacts, resulting in this. I had to keep up with the schedule. “The spokesman told The Epoch Times in an email.
“We appreciate the frustration this causes, especially when you are traveling for Christmas, and sincerely apologize for the impact of these changes on your travel plans.
“Both Jetstar and Qantas services are committed to minimizing delays and keeping flight passengers as close as possible to their original departure times.”
Customers are dissatisfied with social media, and one Jetstar passenger said: All flights disappeared in front of me. I called them just because they told me they canceled all the flights for 5 days. There is no PAX. “
I went to book Jetstar from Goldie 3 weeks ago. All flights disappeared in front of me. I called them just because they told me they canceled all the flights for 5 days. There is no PAX.
— One Fat Duck (@_onefatduck) December 23, 2021
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Nina Nguyen is a Sydney-based Vietnamese reporter with a focus on Australian news. Contact her at [email protected]