MEDAN – AirAsia has been rapped over the knuckles by Medan’s Polonia Airport authority and could face sanctions for an incident in which its stranded passengers vandalised facilities at the airport, according to reports.
Trouble flared after about 140 AirAsia passengers were left stranded at the airport in North Sumatra for more than 15 hours on Sunday night.
Airport facilities were vandalised as passengers vented their frustration against the airline’s management for cancelling the flight.
The Jakarta Globe reported that passengers detained an AirAsia employee and prevented him from leaving the airport until the airline gave them a confirmation on their flight departure.
A passenger said the disorder was a spontaneous response of passengers who were infuriated by AirAsia employees’ failure to resolve the problem.
Polonia Airport manager Rajali Abubakar said the airline began looking for hotels only after heated arguments with passengers.
The flight was scheduled to leave at 7.10pm local time on Sunday but was cancelled and rescheduled for 11am the next day. Following the incident, AirAsia suspended its activities at the airport.
The airport administration confirmed that the incident was not the first for AirAsia, which, he said, regularly postponed its flights, often leaving passengers stranded for hours at Polonia Airport.
“We will reprimand them so they no longer delay their flights. As well as disappointing passengers, the move disrupts flight schedules at the airport,†he told local media.
