Mandala Airlines Delay: Jakarta, West Java

I used to get really annoyed in my younger years when a plane that I was going to board gets delayed. Over the years I have mellowed. I can recall on one occasion at the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport I was waiting for a flight to Yogyakarta and the flight was delayed by 11 hours. But you have to feel sorry for the hundreds of would-be Mandala airlines passengers who were stranded for hours at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Saturday.

Passengers due to fly on the 9 a.m. Yogyakarta flight finally lost their patience after about 1 p.m. With no explanation for the delay forthcoming from the airlines, the passengers turned in their tickets and switched to another carrier according to an article in the Jakarta Post.

“After one hour of the delay, we asked for an explanation from airline management at the airport, but there was no clear reason for the delay and we were even told that the flight would leave at 1 p.m.,” said Azis, one of the stranded passengers.

Disappointed with the poor service, all passengers finally flocked to the airline office to cancel their tickets.

“I was supposed to be in Yogyakarta at 12 a.m. to attend job training,” said Azis, a resident of Ciputat, Tangerang, after waiting for about three hours.

Azis said however that he had no plan to demand compensation from the airline.

“They fine us if we cancel our tickets, but they don’t offer compensation to passengers suffering from such long delays.”

Dedi, an employee at the airline’s operations department at the airport, insisted the delay was not caused by any damage to the plane.