Long flight delay caused by fog
Fog and a minor technical glitch turned a two-hour FlySafair flight from Johannesburg to George into a 10-hour nightmare for passengers on Wednesday, 3 January. Departure delays, rerouting to Cape Town, sleeping on OR Tambo International Airport, and weather conditions in George led to a series of challenges for those on board Flight FA 252.
The flight was scheduled to depart at 16:40, but before even taking off from OR Tambo, the passengers had to disembark and get onto another aircraft due to a minor technical issue on the aircraft they were on. They could eventually depart to George at 18:40.
However, due to the fog and poor weather conditions in George, they were unable to land and the aircraft had to reroute to Cape Town where it landed at 21:00.
All the passengers had to stay on the aircraft until it departed again at 22:30 to attempt landing in George for the second time.
About an hour later the aircraft arrived in George airspace, but again was unable to land due to weather conditions and had to fly back to Johannesburg where it landed just before 01:00 where the passengers had to sleep on airport benches until they could catch a flight to George at 05:55 and 07:50 the following morning as there was no alternative accommodation available.
"It felt like we were in a movie," said one of the passengers to George Herald, sister newspaper of Mossel Bay Advertiser after the ordeal.
"It all started with technical issues on the airplane. We were meant to depart at 16:10, but had to swop planes and only took off at 18:40. In the meantime the weather became really bad in George and we couldn't land due to the thick fog."
She said they received minimal assistance from FlySafair throughout the ordeal, with only water offered and no meals provided.
"We were each offered a bottle of water, but the children and elderly on the flight were given nothing to eat and we had to buy coffee from the airline.
"When we arrived in Johannesburg we had to sleep on airport benches as the airline did not supply alternative accommodation, food or basic assistance. Imagine the elderly sleeping on these benches. Instead of a twohour flight, we spent more than 10 hours on the plane. We also had to buy snacks from FlySafair for the minors who travelled alone, as the airline refused to assist in any way," the passenger said.
It's all in the fine print
FlySafair's chief marketing officer, Kirby Gordon, expressed regret over the delays and inconvenience. Gordon cited the airline's standard practice, in line with other low-cost carriers in South Africa, of not guaranteeing meals, accommodation, or transportation during flight delays.
"This is something that is clearly contained in the terms and conditions of booking which customers accept when making their reservations and can be compensated for by purchasing the Travel Protection Insurance Product which is available on our website when making bookings," he said. Gordon confirmed the flight's technical issue and two diversions, detailing the collaborative efforts with Air Traffic Control and Operations Headquarters to navigate the challenging weather conditions.
Despite numerous challenges, FlySafair claimed it has spared no effort or expense in accommodating passengers, arranging the first flights to George the following morning.
"The flight proceeded to George Airport but was forced to divert to Cape Town International due to the bad weather," he said.
The weather cleared a little in George and a second attempt was made to fly to George again.
"Unfortunately, the intended departure was delayed by passengers who decided to disembark in Cape Town just before the intended departure," explained Kirby.
The aircraft eventually departed just after 22:00, but by then the weather had turned again and the aircraft was forced to be diverted back to Johannesburg.
"Customers were accommodated on the first flights out of Johannesburg to George the following morning. No effort or expense was spared on the part of the airline or our partners, who kept the airport open for extended hours and burnt additional fuel to attempt the most prompt completion of the flight," said Kirby.