Airline passengers fly into rage over snow delays
- Source: Global Times
- [02:25 November 03 2009]
- Comments
By Lin Jiasi
The weekend snowfall might have turned Beijing into a picture-perfect city but for many stuck inside Beijing Capital International Airport, it was a tiring, messy and ugly scene.
Passengers jumping the line, poor and non-existent customer service at airline counters exacerbated the situation for thousands of passengers after the snow delayed more than 200 flights Sunday.
Major airlines such as Air China, China Eastern Airlines and Hainan Airlines were criticized by passengers due to the apparent absence of emergency preparedness and poor management of the situation.
"It sucked. People did not line up and some even climbed on the luggage counters to shout at the check-in attendants who did a bad job responding to passengers," said an Air China passenger. "The airlines and the airport are incapable of coping with emergency measures."
Multiple canceled and delayed outbound domestic flights left a swarm of passengers stranded at counters and the airlines and airport did not offer them a place to stay. Many said they failed to keep them informed about the flight status and schedule.
Passengers on a Taipei-bound flight complained they were stuck in the aircraft for nine hours without water or food. The flight was supposed to leave Sunday but they were held inside the plane until Monday.
Another passenger, Fang Shanshan, who was flying to Shanghai, said the service at the check-in counter was "inefficient and inadequate" and it took her an hour to reschedule her flight. She was also told there were no more seats available in business or first class.
"Everything was booked, and the general manager of the airline told us that there was no guarantee that they would have enough seats for us even if they have our names on the waitlist," Fang told the Global Times Monday.
A manager of Air China, surnamed Liu, said Monday that the company tried to improve the situation, but due to the heavy traffic flow and unpredictable weather conditions, airline workers were unable to put every passenger out of their misery.
"Passengers on our cancelled flights will receive a full ticket refund while the rest will get 300-yuan refund," said Liu.
A spokesman for the airport denied that the operation was chaotic, saying everything was normal on Sunday.
An official with Beijing Capital International Airport told the Xinhua News Agency that normal operation resumed when the last stranded flight took off at 9:30 am Monday.
