pilot flu lays airasia low
kuala lumpur : airasia flights from kuala lumpur were back to normal yesterday after delays caused by an outbreak of the flu which affected over a dozen pilots , Malaysian daily the star reported
the lack of healthy pilots led to hundreds of passengers being stranded because of delayed or cancelled flights, the new straits times reported yesterday
the flu grounded 13 flight crew of the budget airline, chief executive tony fernandes said on twitter
most of the flights affected on Monday and Tuesday at klia2 , the budget terminal of kuala lumpur international airport, were domestic
the airline was “working towards a resolution to ensure all guests enjoy a smooth journey” , airasia said in a statement yesterday
the new straits times reported earlier that fuming passengers had been left in the dark about the status of their flights, some missed their planes because of long queues at check-ins caused by the delays
one passenger, noraizan jamaludin , whose flight to the northern state of penang on Monday night was affected , vented her frustration on facebook
she said she was told to move four times from one departure gate to the other before her flight was eventually cancelled at around midnight over what an airline official told them were “operational requirements”
the passengers were told to go to the departure hall for new boarding passes for the next day
“by this time tempers among the passengers were flaring Guards were deployed to protect airasia staff “ , she wrote
ms noraizan said they were not provided with accommodation because they were told that all nearby hotels were full. dpa