17 September,2015 03:00 PM IST | | Neha LM Tripathi
12 crewmembers reported late to the airport as they were stranded in traffic on the WEH; angry passengers refused to board the rescheduled flight causing the airline to cancel the flight
One might wonder if there is a connection between Tuesday's train derailment and the cancellation of the Hong Kong-bound Cathay Pacific flight. Well, there is one!
With people opting to travel via road post-derailment, resulting in hour-long jams due to bumper-to-bumper traffic across the city, 12 crewmembers reached the airport late as they were stuck in one such traffic jam on the Western Express Highway (WEH). This eventually resulted in the cancellation of the flight.
Sources at Terminal-2 said boarding for CX 696, whose standard departure time is 10.46 pm, was rescheduled for 11.55 pm after its crew reported late to work. However, the delay had irked the 200 passengers who created a ruckus around 11.15 pm and refused to board the flight after learning that the flight was re-routed as well.
"No explanation was offered by the airline to the passengers about the rescheduled flight. The boarding commenced at 11.55 pm. However, what infuriated the passengers most was the announcement informing that the flight will take an hour's layover at Bangkok before flying to Hong Kong," one of the sources said.
Airport officials present at the spot said the flight was declared cancelled at 1.35 am following which 146 passengers and the 12 crewmembers were accommodated in JW Marriott. The flight finally departed yesterday at 5.31 pm. The remaining 54 passengers chose to self offload and manage the journey on their own said an airline official.
