Engineering issues have caused chaos for travellers trying to get back to Australia from Bali, with one stranded group of friends forking out $10k just to get home.
The Project TV has reported that between 1,000 and 4,000 Australians had their Bali to Australia flights cancelled since September 1st, and many are still stranded on the tropical island.
Melbourne Mum Meagan Mulder told PerthNow that she and her family were delayed for seven hours at Denpasar airport last night, but they fared much better than their friends who had to spend more than $10,000 to make a detour to Kuala Lumpur in order to get back to Australia.
“We had 12 friends who were on the midnight flight last night, they had their flight cancelled, they can’t get another flight anywhere for seven people until Friday this week, so they’ve had to get more accommodation and everything,” she said.
“For us, it’s a seven-hour delay but we’re getting home,” she added.
Thousands of Aussies are still stranded in Bali after their Jetstar flights were cancelled and they hadn’t yet received a replacement flight. One of those Australians is Casey Emmerson who told the publication that she and her girlfriend’s Jetstar flights had been cancelled twice.
“Our only option to get home faster is via Qantas, which is over $1500 each, which isn‘t something we can afford, as we still have accommodation, meals, dog sitter fees etc to pay whilst here before getting reimbursed by Jetstar,” Ms Emmerson said.
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“Jetstar have told us the next flight they can get us on is September 8 to arrive by September 9, which is unsuitable for both of us.
“I am self-employed and my girlfriend is a BAS agent … since being stuck in Bali, between us we have lost about $5000 income.”
Jetstar has released a statement apologising for the delayed and cancelled flights, citing “engineering issues” as the reason.
“We sincerely apologise for the frustration and inconvenience this disruption has caused our customers,” a Jetstar spokesperson said in a statement.
It continued, “Our teams are looking at every option to get passengers on their way as soon as possible, including seats on Qantas flights and operating ad hoc services where possible.
“A flight credit or refund will also be made available to passengers who no longer wish to travel.”
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