KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 ― Malaysia Airlines today apologised for its unscheduled night stop in Mumbai on September 8, saying it needed to ensure the aircraft’s safety after discovering some technical issues.
The national carrier said its engineers and technical crew had insisted on a thorough check, which led to the reportedly 19-hour wait for the 2am Mumbai-KL flight.
“Malaysia Airlines apologises to passengers of flight MH187 from Mumbai to Kuala Lumpur on 8 September 2016 for the prolonged delay caused by technical issues on the operating aircraft,” it said in a statement.
“As safety is of utmost importance to its passengers and crew, the airline’s engineers and technical crew insisted on a thorough check of the aircraft to ensure its airworthiness.
“This resulted in an unscheduled night stop in Mumbai,” MAS added.
During the ordeal, Facebook user Josh Awang had took to social media to vent his frustration when the flight was delayed without notice until passengers confronted ground crew for information.
He said the group was later given hotel rooms, but it took the airline four hours to transport the group of 80 to the hotel just 1.6km away, where the airline booked passengers into twin-sharing rooms, with strangers made to stay together.
“The airline tried as much as possible to arrange for hotel rooms for all passengers. However, availability of single rooms were very limited. Meals were provided at the respective hotels,” the airline said in the statement.
“The airline regrets the inconvenience caused to guests and appreciates their patience and understanding.”
According to Josh Awang, the 2am flight eventually took off at 9pm.
