Over 20,000 passengers stranded at airports
KOTA KINABALU: More than 20,000 passengers were stranded at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), Tawau, Sandakan and Labuan airports after flights were cancelled following a volcanic eruption at Mount Ruang in Indonesia's Sulawesi on Thursday.
Both the KKIA and the Tawau airports were packed with passengers, including umrah pilgrimage travelers, trying to make alternative arrangements to their destination.
Many passengers were angry at the chaos at the KKIA with most complaining that the airline's websites did not update them on the flight cancellations.
By 2.30pm, most airlines had updated their websites informing passengers of the cancellations.
An airline officer said there was nothing much that can be done as the situation also caught them off guard.
“We can't do much, this is an act of nature. We have been explaining to them (passengers) that we cannot give any clearance for flights until the authorities give the green light,”said the officer who declined to be named.
Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia have also cancelled all its flights from KKIA and Tawau.
Checks on the flight monitor showed that only two flights were given clearance to land at KKIA, Batik Air from Kuala Lumpur and an AirAsia flight from Johor Baru, while all other flights were cancelled.
Raudah Borneo Travel and Services Sdn Bhd Syariah adviser, Datuk Saifulzaman Sangul, said that the agency's 66 prospective umrah pilgrims were also stranded.
He hoped that all pilgrims would be patient, and pray that the situation will improve and flight operations will go back to normal.
“For those who are going to perform umrah, we hope that their flight will reach the Holy Land safely, and (they can) fulfil their umrah obligations,” he said.
Prospective umrah pilgrims, Nuraini Robert, 54, and her daughter, Najwa Musain Musli, 28, from Kampung Paal, Tenom, said that their flight through the umrah agency, scheduled for 12.05pm to Singapore, was postponed.
She said that she only found out about the flight situation when they were at KKIA, after being informed by the umrah agency earlier that they were expected to arrive in Jeddah today (Apr 19).
“I arrived in Kota Kinabalu yesterday, and when a situation like this happens, we just have to accept it, pray that the situation will get better and that we will reach our destination safely,” she said.
Another passenger, Rusnih Majid along with 16 family members were scheduled to leave for Kuching on a 12.30pm Firefly flight for a wedding ceremony, but it was cancelled and rescheduled.
The 65-year-old from Kampung Luagan Sanginan, Beaufort, said they had left Beaufort as early as 6am, and only found out about the rescheduling when they arrived at KKIA at about 9am.
Rusnih, however, hoped that the situation will improve and that the family will be able to attend her nephew's wedding ceremony on Saturday.
Another passenger said airline staff were trying their best to explain the flight cancellation to passengers who demanded an explanation.
“They (airline staff) were unable to cope with the situation. They only told us that all flights were cancelled for today and they will update us,” said the passenger who wanted to be identified only as Rahman.
Rahman said he understands the circumstances for the cancellations were beyond the control of airlines but he hoped that all passengers would be informed and given ample time if the flights were reinstated.
The Malaysia Airlines flight ferrying the body of veteran Sabah politician Tan Sri Joseph Kurup was also affected by the cancellations.
According to officials from the family, Kurup's body was scheduled to leave KLIA on MH7404 at 7.15am but the flight was cancelled.
They said MAS was trying to place Kurup's body on the earliest flight available.
Kurup, 79, passed away Wednesday night at the National Heart Institute (IJN).
In Tawau, more than 2,000 passengers have been affected by the cancellation of several flights from Tawau Airport.
Tawau Airport manager Rehan Dhafiq Azizan said that there were AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines flights involving Tawau cancelled, while Firefly flights were delayed thus far, in addition to the ‘on hold' status for Malindo flights.
“Now we are checking the flight schedules, indeed there are cancellations; we ask passengers to check the status of their respective flights first,” he said when met by reporters at the airport here Thursday.
He said that currently, Tawau Airport is still busy with stranded passengers trying to find alternative flights, or changing times or dates.
“The check-in counters are still open to facilitate the affairs of passengers who want to change the date or time of a new flight, because we do not want them to be crowded at the counter of their respective airlines,” he added.
As for Thursday’s flights, they are currently running as scheduled, however, the matter depends on the development of the situation over time, which the Malaysian Meteorological Department will inform, he said.
Meanwhile, a check at Tawau Airport found that the average stranded passenger hopes that airlines open a more customer-friendly inquiry counter to facilitate any transaction.
Associate Prof Dr Mohd Hanif Hassan said that by having such a counter will enable passengers to get more detailed information, and not just rely on information via email or telephone.
“Put a hotline at the counter; sometimes passengers just want to know information, not just want to change the flight schedule; sit at the counter and explain what the customer wants.
“At least the passengers are clear about what is happening, whether they have to wait or can go home first to rest,” said Mohd Hanif, who was supposed to depart from Tawau to Kota Kinabalu with his family at 7.30 Thursday morning.
Another passenger, Fong Len Fui, also hopes the same for the airline to deal more quickly with the issue of customers who still do not know the status of their flight.
“By right, when a problem like this occurs, the airline should open a counter and explain to the passengers, because they are waiting as they don’t know what the problem is.
“Don’t expect them (passengers) to have to line up for four to five hours to wait for the notification,” said Fong, who was supposed to be travelling to Kota Kinabalu Thursday.
A similar situation also occurred at Sandakan Airport, as passengers were stranded at the airport following the cancellation of flights, including those to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
At Labuan Airport, flights MH2634 and AK5174 from Kuala Lumpur, scheduled to arrive in Labuan at 5.10pm and 4.50pm respectively Thursday, were cancelled.
Similarly, flights AK5175 and MH2535 from Labuan to Kuala Lumpur, set for departure at 5:15 pm and 5:55 pm, were also affected by the cancellations.
Thousands of airline passengers bound for Sabah and Sarawak, were also stranded at the KLIA on Thursday. A survey at 11 am at Terminal 2 revealed that passengers originally scheduled to depart for Tawau at 8.20 am have now been rescheduled to fly to Sandakan at 1.30 pm.
However, a statement from AirAsia at noon announced the cancellation of all flights to Sabah, Sarawak, and Brunei from 10 am on Thursday until 8am today (April 19).
The affected AirAsia flights are those to Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Sandakan, Bintulu, Kuching and Brunei.
Hazwan Mohd Hanafi, 35, an administrative assistant from Kelantan, stated that he and his 20 family members were initially scheduled to depart for Tawau at 8.20 am on Thursday, but were later issued new tickets to Sandakan.
“We had a wedding to attend in Tawau tomorrow. We intended to travel to Tawau by road after our flight to Sandakan. But now all flights are canceled. We don’t have any other plans yet; maybe we’ll wait here at the airport for the flights to be rescheduled,” he explained.
Another Tawau-bound passenger, Norfatihah Aluddin, 15, said she and three other family members are still awaiting the latest updates from AirAsia following the cancellation of all flights.
“We have an event in Tawau this Saturday; earlier, we got a flight to Sandakan and planned to take a bus to Tawau from there, but it’s canceled too. It would be great if we could get a flight tomorrow morning,” she said.
A passenger returning home to Kuching, who only wished to be identified as Annie, said her 11.35 am flight was also canceled.
“At the moment, they (AirAsia) asked us to wait for updates, so we have to be patient,” she said.
Meanwhile, Mohd Firdaus Mohd Shaari, a Malaysia Airlines passenger at KLIA Terminal 1, whose flight (MH2710) from Kuala Lumpur to Sandakan was canceled, said he is awaiting further information regarding the rescheduled flight.
“I am queuing at the counter to retrieve our checked-in luggage from this morning and inquiring about the contingency plan for affected passengers,” said Mohd Firdaus, a medical assistant at the Duchess of Kent Hospital in Sandakan.
It is understood that he, and his wife, who is a doctor at the same hospital, returned to the Peninsula for Hari Raya Aidilfitri on April 6 and were scheduled to resume duty on April 22.
Besides AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines and Batik Air have also canceled their flights due to the Mount Ruang eruption.
Malaysia Airlines canceled 19 flights from KLIA to destinations in Sabah and Sarawak on Thursday, comprising 11 to and fro Sabah and eight flights involving Sarawak.
Batik Air has announced flight cancellations for its East Malaysia routes, from and to Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Tawau, and Sibu.