Hawaiian Airlines passengers stranded at JFK airport gate for nearly 33 hours – and only given $12 in food vouchers as compensation
John F. Footage captured from Kennedy Airport showed some of the frustration felt by the hundreds or more passengers stranded on flights forced to wait overnight as they awaited an update, triggering a stream of delays, giving fliers little reason for what they had. was done Causing inexcusable holdups. Finally the flight took off
Passengers on a Honolulu-bound Hawaiian Airlines flight had to wait nearly 33 hours at a New York airport gate after a mechanical problem grounded their plane Tuesday — before being given $12 food vouchers as consolation.
John F. Footage shot from Kennedy Airport showed some of the frustration felt by the hundreds or more stranded passengers on the flight – who were forced to wait for hours overnight as they patiently waited for an update.
A stream of delays ensued, during which flyers were given little reason to account for the inexcusable holdup.
Finally, several hours later, passengers were told there had been some kind of malfunction that caused the missed takeoff and subsequent delays, and were later told they were waiting for a part to fly all the way from Georgia.
About a day and a half later, the flight took off – just before 7pm on Wednesday. It missed its 10am takeoff after the crew ‘reported an odor during pre-departure cabin checks’, it has been revealed. The passengers were later given vouchers as compensation.
Passengers on a Honolulu-bound Hawaiian Airlines flight had to wait nearly 33 hours at a New York airport gate Tuesday after a mechanical problem grounded their plane. Seen here is an image of an unrelated Hawaiian flight over San Francisco in June
Providing an update on WNBC-TV Tuesday as passengers waited, passenger Joe Rao, Jr. explained how the prominent airline was handling the situation.
‘Every time they are late, they don’t give us the real reason for the delay,’ Rao, Jr lamented hours into the passengers’ ordeal.
In a snippet soon after, he added: ‘We learned that there was some kind of defect, some kind of mechanical problem, that needed to be remedied and they said the part needed to be brought in from Georgia.’
In disbelief, the flight attendant specified: ‘Atlanta, Georgia.’
Hours later, after the unscheduled part was finally delivered at 10pm – 12 hours after the scheduled takeoff – Rao said the riders would still be stranded, even though they were told it had been fixed.
‘The pilot didn’t want to clear the flight because he said it smelled smoke,’ he explained to the station, adding that for the next few hours, passengers would not receive any updates.
After nearly a day of waiting — during which travelers were not allowed to retrieve their luggage or even exchange tickets — the passengers were finally told they would board the 10 a.m. Hawaiian flight Wednesday, the New York-based NBC affiliate reported.
However, when it came time to board – almost 24 hours into the passengers’ predicament – the passengers were told that the plane had already been allocated a separate group of ticket holders.
Rao – who like everyone else was given only a $12 food voucher for their trouble – said passengers were given virtually no explanation about the schedule oversight and denied the airline offered the already taken flight as a solution.
Rao added that the idea came directly from the pilot, who in footage shared with WNBC can be seen surrounded by a seemingly endless crowd of passengers, who were none too pleased to learn that another passenger had been assigned to the flight.
‘The pilot suggested that we take the 10 am flight – the new flight,’ Rao said at the station.
A person who traveled with Rao and also spoke to WNBC: ‘They were telling us that you were going to get on the flight at 10 in the morning, that was absolutely impossible.
‘I don’t understand why they feel the need to play with our feelings or not empathize or consider us as human beings.’
Finally, several hours later, when the plane’s as-yet-unknown problems were finally resolved that night, the flight crew told the distraught passengers that they needed to rest before they took off.
That didn’t happen until just before 7pm on Wednesday – meaning what was supposed to be an 11-hour flight ended up being a 44-hour journey.
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