by NURUL SUHAIDI 

BATIK Air’s recent flight delays from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching, Sarawak and Trichy, India on Dec 22 were due to adverse weather conditions and technical defects to the aircraft.

“We have taken extra measures to ensure the smooth sailing of our flight operations and this incident is deeply regretted.

“Upon learning of the bad weather conditions, flight rescheduling was planned.

“We have no intention of causing the delay to be prolonged and we would like to reassure the public that the situation has been rectified and rest assured that our operations at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport terminal have resumed to normal,” it said in a statement today.

It added that food vouchers were given out during the delay but were unable to provide accommodation as all hotels were full, and no food outlets were opened after midnight at the terminal.

“The cause of the incident is currently being investigated and we will build on any lapses of our operations for a continuous improvement in our customer service delivery,” it added.

The airline said the standard operating procedures were carried out by its highly trained technical crew and engineers on the technical defect of its aircraft to ensure airworthiness.

The delayed flights departed at the new scheduled timings.

As a gesture, Batik Air will contact all the affected passengers to extend them special complimentary vouchers.

“We deeply regret that the delays have caused much inconvenience to our passengers and their families,” it said.

During the incident, one of the affected passengers, Mohd Firdaus Jailan on his Twitter account expressed huge disappointment to the airline for the delay and mismanagement as there was no clear direction on their flight status, and most of the passengers were left in the dark.

“Our flight to Kuching was supposed to depart at 11.30pm but was delayed to 2am. When I asked if it would be delayed again, they said no. But until now (6.30am) there is no update on the flight status, and no staff showed up or even checked on our condition,” he said in the video which he posted while still waiting for his flight. His flight eventually took off at 7.40am.

Mohd Firdaus also tagged Transport Minister Anthony Loke in his tweet. 

He also posted a picture of stranded passengers sleeping on the boarding hall floor, using their bags as pillows and towels or jackets as blankets. 

Loke replied to the tweet, informing that he had contacted the management of Batik Air.