‘Had to sleep on the dirty floor’: Passengers on U-turned AirAsia flight to S’pore say situation not as airline claimed

Passengers affected by the cancelled AirAsia flight to Singapore on Dec. 13 had to sleep on benches or the floor, with no proper accommodation provided.

Communication was also poor on the ground, some passengers claimed.

A Mothership reader, who gave her name as Lin, said that affected passengers were not informed of extent of the delay in the first place; only told that they had to change planes.

"In our mind, [this] was maybe another one to two hours max, not four to five hours," she said.

When the wait turned out to be longer than expected, they were left stranded in the waiting area. No hotels or proper accommodation were offered.

Flight AK1729, which returned to Penang International Airport 20 minutes after takeoff due to "a minor incident caused by adverse weather conditions", was eventually delayed by around eight hours.

Had to sleep on the floor

In an earlier statement on the matter, AirAsia said that during the situation, guests were "well taken care of" with meals provided and "accommodation arrangements" made.

The CEO of AirAsia Malaysia added that guests were kept "well informed at every stage".

But Lin contested this, arguing that accommodation arrangements amounted only to a limited number of thin red blankets.

"Not enough for all passengers, so mostly kids and elderly got one piece," she said.

When passengers requested proper accommodation, the staff said hotels were full, she said.

She added that the seats were hard benches which had armrests dividing them, making them impossible to lie on.

"Many had to resort to sleeping on the dirty cold hard floor," Lin said.

Another passenger, who gave her name as Izyan, agreed that no accommodation was offered to the stranded passengers.

"I had to sleep on the chair sitting up, with my five-year-old son sleeping in my arms. I couldn't bear to see him sleeping on the floor," she said.

She added that she saw at least six people sleeping on the floor, and the rest sleeping on the chairs at the waiting area.

"It is unfair for AirAsia to release in the media that accommodation was arranged when it's not."

Over the eight-hour period, passengers were given two meals, snacks, and water, as shops were closed.

The first meal was a McChicken burger and a bottle of water, and the second was a box of nuggets, a Filet-O-Fish burger, and more water.

Poor communication

They also took issue with the airline's communication on the ground.

After turning back to Penang, passengers were not informed of a further delay — only a change in planes, Lin said.

"In our mind, [this] was maybe another one to two hours max, not four to five hours."

In the airport itself, customer service also left much to be desired, she claimed.

"Not a single AirAsia staff attended to us," she said.

Instead, passengers were attended to by airport staff, and Lin said the communication from them was "poor and slow".

Background info

The flight, AK1729 to Singapore, turned back to Penang at around 9:50pm on Dec. 13, 20 minutes after takeoff.

It took off again at around 5:50am, eight hours later.

Earlier, it had been delayed by two hours before the initial takeoff.

It finally arrived in Singapore at 7am, around 11 hours after its original scheduled arrival time.

A crack was reportedly found in one of the plane's windshield panels.

In response to Mothership's queries, AirAsia Malaysia said the flight turned back due to "a minor incident caused by adverse weather conditions".

"The flight crew, following strict safety and operational protocols, opted for a precautionary turnback to ensure the safety of all on board," a spokesperson said, adding:

"Guests were well taken care of during the situation and provided with Service Recovery Options, including the choice of a free flight change within six (6) months, credit to their account, or a full refund, as well as meals and accommodation arrangements on ground.

The impacted guests were able to resume their flight the following morning."

AirAsia did not respond to further queries on the matter.

Top image from Lin and AirAsia's website