What happened on board my Qantas flight from hell

What happened on board my Qantas flight from hell: ‘We just wanted to get off’

• Qantas passengers on tarmac for six hours
• Their flight to Los Angeles was then cancelled 
• Read more: Qatar dumps perks for Qantas staff 

Fed-up Qantas passengers who were forced to sit on the tarmac for six hours before their flight was eventually cancelled have unleashed on the airline.

Flight QF93 from Melbourne to Los Angeles was cancelled at 3 am on Tuesday after it was decided the plane was too heavy to take off due to strong winds.

The doomed flight had already been delayed before customers boarded.

Qantas customer Caitley had already travelled five hours from regional NSW that day and didn’t arrive at her hotel for some much-needed rest until 6am.

‘We just wanted to get off. We were tired, there was no water, we weren’t even offered any food, we weren’t allowed to get out of our seats,’ she told 3AW radio.

Fed-up Qantas passengers who were forced to sit on a tarmac for six hours before their flight was eventually cancelled have unleashed on the airline

(Stock image) Flight QF93 from Melbourne to Los Angeles was cancelled at 3am on Tuesday after it was decided the plane was too heavy to take off due to strong winds

Caitley said passengers were growing more frustrated every hour they spent on the tarmac, with the pilot providing updates every half an hour. 

She waited at the airport for another hour before catching a taxi to a hotel in the city which were both paid for by Qantas. 

‘We didn’t get to bed until six o’clock this morning,’ she said. 

‘We left home at 11.30am yesterday morning so it’s been a big journey to only travel 500 kilometres.’

Another passenger, Pip, slammed Qantas for ‘never being on the front foot’.

‘This isn’t their first rodeo, they didn’t have any contingency plan and they’re never on the front foot,’ she said. 

‘You’ve got to get on the phone to them, you’ve got to chase them up, you’ve got to be the one that tries to get your compensation or get your complaint in.’

Pip said passengers were offered the opportunity to fly to Los Angeles ahead of their luggage before the flight was ultimately cancelled.

A Qantas spokesperson has since apologised for the inconvenience to customers. 

Passengers were offered the opportunity to fly to Los Angeles ahead of their luggage before the doomed flight was ultimately cancelled 

‘The aircraft arrived late in Melbourne following a weather-delayed departure from the UK and then faced further issues including runway works and bad weather which impacted take off,’ the spokesperson said.

‘Passengers were provided refreshments on board, but further refreshments were not possible once the plane was preparing to take off.

‘Qantas provided accommodation and transport for customers overnight and they will board a new flight Tuesday night.’ 

Passengers were asked to disembark the plane and return to the terminal, where they were given vouchers for an overnight stay in a hotel or a cab charge. 

Melbourne Airport was undertaking maintenance on its north-south runway which meant only the shorter runway was available. 

The works have been going on since November.  

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