KUALA LUMPUR: Batik Air today has assured it will contact all passengers of the KL-Kuching flight who were stranded at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) last Friday, as well as extend special complimentary vouchers to them.
The budget airline also apologised to all the affected passengers for the inconvenienced caused by the prolonged delays in flight departures.
Batik Airlines Public Relations and Government Affairs director Raja Sa'adi Raja Amrin said technical issues with the aircraft and bad weather resulted in the delay.
"The flights were rescheduled in accordance with the weather, and the crew and engineers attended to the technical issue with the aircraft in order to ensure its airworthiness.
"We had no intention of prolonging the delay and would like to reassure the public that the situation has been rectified. Rest assured that our operations at the KLIA terminal have resumed to normal," Raja Sa'adi said in a statement.
His explanation came at the heels of the statement by Transports Minister Anthony Loke, who had instructed Batik Air to reach out and apologise to all affected passengers.
Raja Sa'adi said food vouchers were handed out during the delay, but accommodations could not be provided as all nearby hotels were full at the time. He added that there were no food outlets operating in the terminal at midnight.
"Batik Air will contact all the affected passengers to extend to them special complimentary vouchers.
"We deeply regret and apologise that the delays have inconvenienced our passengers and their families. We have taken extra measures to ensure the smooth-sailing of our flight operations. This incident is deeply regretted," read his statement.
Loke issued the instruction to the airline after a complaint by one of the flight's passengers--Mohammad Firdaus Jailan--on his and other passengers' treatment, as well as their predicament, went viral on social media.
In his video posting on Twitter, Firdaus said he was waiting for his flight to Kuching, but it was delayed from 11pm to 6am and he had to stay overnight at the airport.