The founder of an airline is making headlines throughout the world after flying to an airport to personally apologise to travellers who were stranded there overnight. Chang Kuo-Wei, chairman of Starlux Airlines, reportedly visited Japan’s Narita International Airport on Sunday, May 7, to personally apologise to the 308 delayed customers. In a video, he can be seen explaining that ”very strong winds” were to blame for one flight’s delay. Airlines would provide passengers with full reimbursements, Mr Kuo-wei stated. Before the flight crew went over their allotted working hours, a maintenance check of the aircraft caused the second flight to be delayed, Mr Kuo-wei informed the passengers.
The passengers were informed by the airline that they would have to spend the night at the terminal and that they would not be able to leave the aircraft
Notably, on Saturday, May 6, a string of delays forced travellers on two flights to stay the night at the Narita International Airport. JX803 was originally scheduled to take passengers on one flight at 3:45 pm, but it was delayed to 4:20 pm without any explanation. At around 5:30 p.m., a staff member notified passengers that the two planes were being combined, and Starlux subsequently transferred passengers to another flight. They got on the plane at about 7 o’clock, but because another flight crew had to be found, the departure was delayed until 11 o’clock. The passengers were kept on board the aircraft until almost midnight before the flight was cancelled.
The passengers were informed that they would have to spend the night at the terminal and that they would not be able to leave the aircraft until their sleeping bags arrived. They were ultimately allowed to leave the aircraft around one in the morning. According to the story, they were subsequently forced to sleep at the airport before receiving dinner at about 9:30 p.m. The airline subsequently stated that the flight would depart on Sunday, May 7, at 6 am, but the time was later moved to 8 am once more. Mr Kuo-wei then made an apology to the irate travellers at the airport, but not all of them were persuaded. Approximately 16 hours after the scheduled takeoff time, the jet did take to the air. Neither food nor water were provided to passengers.