'I waited like a fool': Wee sees red over AirAsia flight delays

Multiple AirAsia flight delays from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan, Sabah yesterday sparked outrage from former transport minister Wee Ka Siong.

Taking to Facebook, Wee, who appeared frustrated and dismayed, lampooned the budget airline for allegedly “running away from its responsibilities” after delaying the flight - initially scheduled for 3.10pm yesterday - five times.

“At 8.40am (yesterday), I received an SMS from AirAsia informing me of a delay to 5.55pm. After I checked out from my hotel at 2pm, I was once again notified that the flight was further delayed to 11.30pm.

“Later at 8.55pm, I received a message saying my flight was postponed to 2.10am on Sunday. However, at 10.15pm, I was informed that my flight was brought forward to 1.30am on Sunday. Therefore, I arrived at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport before 1pm.

“However, I was upset when the AirAsia staff said the flight was cancelled and new flight details were only to be provided at 7am on Sunday.

“Hey! Please don’t trouble us! I checked out from the hotel at 2pm. After that, I waited like a fool,” he said in the three-minute video.

Advance notice necessary

The MCA president stressed that AirAsia should have given the passengers an advance notice if there was a problem with the flight.

This, he said, was to allow the passengers to consider other alternatives to get to their destination.

“Don’t you have crisis management in place? If AirAsia wants to cancel the flight, they should inform the passengers early on instead of continuously giving them false information or hope.

“I found more AirAsia passengers stranded at the airport. I really pity them. A group of stranded passengers I met at Promenade Hotel were angry with the airline for not arranging any accommodation (due to the delay) for two days until Monday.

“AirAsia must be more professional in handling such a crisis. I had to cancel my programme in Sandakan scheduled at 7pm on Saturday and am still unsure about attending my 10am programme on Sunday,” he added.

Malaysiakini has contacted AirAsia for a comment.

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