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S V Choong

Passengers stuck for hours on Qantas A380

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Qantas passengers stuck on board an A380 for more than four hours at Melbourne Airport have been told the flight will not take off due to the crew on-duty time limits, passengers report.

 

The Airbus superjumbo carrying 450 passengers reportedly aborted take-off earlier today due to a problem with its fuel gauges.

 

As the plane gathered speed down the runway, about 10 seconds into the dash, the pilots decided to abort the take-off.

 

A passenger on board the plane told Traveller that the captain made an announcement saying that the fuel readouts were not providing correct information.

 

It was a recurrence of an earlier problem that delayed the plane and was thought to have been remedied before the plane taxied on to the runway, the passenger said.

 

The flight, QF93, was scheduled to leave Melbourne at midday for Los Angeles.

 

After the take-off was aborted, the plane taxied off the runway for mechanical checks.

 

Passengers were told that could not disembark because of the heightened security procedures for flights going to the US. They were told it was not feasible to disembark 450 passengers and re-screen them for a second time.

 

The delay has now stretched so long that the flight will no longer be able to take off due to the crew exceeding their permitted on-duty hours, passengers have reported.

 

One passenger said travellers were "very unhappy" at being stuck in the plane for hours and that onward travel plans were now in disarray.

 

Qantas has yet to advise passengers when they’ll be allowed to get off the plane.

 

Traveller is seeking confirmation of the passenger's account from Qantas.

 

Last month the US Federal Government introduced new regulations that ordered airlines to allow passengers to disembark after three hours if a flight was delayed on the tarmac.

 

http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-news/passengers-stuck-for-hours-on-qantas-a380-20100104-lpmh.html

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I wonder if the passengers feel they were held "like hostages". "P

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I wonder if the passengers feel they were held "like hostages". "P

 

Exactly, imagine the large number of passengers on board this beast.

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Problem with fuel gauges.... VH-OQE, the plane in question, is one of the latest A380 for Qantas (delivered a few months ago). Yet, the fuel gauges have played up??

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People will complain less if they get free drinks, food or entertainment to waste their time... If the seats are comfortable, even better. They will still complain, maybe less harsh.

 

Don't actually know how Qantas handled the situation, but yea, have to say Australian press tends to be less vicious with their own airlines.

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never been on a A380 before...I've seen an Qantas A380 on my 1st trip to Melbourne last november.....

 

I snapped a A380 of SQ and also Qantas head to head...but sadly my MMC card spoiled and no photos :( as for the 3-4 hours in the that plane, i guest if it was me inside, i'd wonder around and take photos here n there :) spotting inside the A380 :rolleyes:

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I wonder if the passengers feel they were held "like hostages". "P

 

Loving your style, Waiping. ;)

 

Hope the pax were allowed to use the lavs... And also access to their carry on bags...

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Similar things happen to me in June 2007, but even worst, with MH (9M-MRN)... <_>

 

On my Umrah trip, MH150 to Jeddah, diverted to Mumbai because there was a horrible weather over Muscat, Oman. We landed there about 1930LT, almost 3 hours on the tarmac, and after that we were told to disembark aircraft at approximately 2300LT ! Can u guys imagine, B777 full load, sharing small bathroom, got small children somemore...

 

After disembark, we were screened to enter the terminal, we must que for about 2 hours, standing !!..old man and woman, small children...and after that we told to wait at the terminal. wait and wait and wait...almost 48hrs...!!! no shower, no changing cloth...luckily we got free muffin.. :huh: :angry:

 

old man and woman, small children, all pax were very very unhappy, sleeping on the terminal floor, chairs, everywhere, just with the small blanket given to us.. :angry:

 

after almost 48hrs, MH150 ready to go, again we were told to que for screening... :angry:

 

 

That is the most horrible experience with MH...i'll never fly with MH150 again... boo MH... <_>

 

P/S: not even a phrase 'sorry' from MH, pilots, cabin crew... <_>

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Bro Idham : Dats dugaan of the highest degree!!! I hope your Umrah was much better!!

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Qantas A380 fault strands 443 passengers

January 4, 2010

AAP

 

A Qantas A380 has been grounded in Melbourne, stranding 443 passengers who were stuck on the tarmac for more than four hours.

 

The Airbus super jumbo, in service for just days, was due to take off from Melbourne bound for Los Angeles at midday (AEDT) on Monday.

 

Passengers now face a 23-hour delay, with a mechanical fault forcing the aircraft's departure to be rescheduled for 11am Tuesday.

 

Flight QF93 was initially delayed one-and-a-half hours because of a fuel gauge fault. It was taxiing when the problem recurred, forcing take-off to be aborted.

 

Passengers remained on board while maintenance crews examined the problem. They were not allowed to disembark because of heightened security procedures for US-bound flights that made re-screening passengers impractical.

 

At 5.15pm Qantas cancelled the flight altogether when it became apparent the crew would exceed their on-duty time limits.

 

"It's over-nighting tonight due to a fuel indication defect," Qantas spokesman Simon Rushton said.

 

"Ultimately, we weren't able to rectify the issue before the pilot and cabin crew exceeded their operating hours."

 

Mr Rushton said passengers were given refreshments and were able to use the in-flight entertainment system during the on-board delay.

 

They would be accommodated in hotels on Monday night or receive free transport home and back to the airport.

 

Mr Rushton said the plane involved was the newest in the Qantas fleet, having only arrived at the end of December.

 

The fuel gauge problem had not been experienced before with the Qantas Airbus, he said.

 

© 2010 AAP

 

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/qantas-a380-fault-strands-443-passengers-20100104-lpyd.html

 

Another long tarmac wait for Qantas A380 passengers

ANDREW HEASLEY

January 6, 2010 - 12:33PM

The 2010 annus horribilis continues for Qantas, with passengers stuck on the tarmac in another Airbus 380 for hours on end, this time in Los Angeles.

 

It has emerged that 398 passengers were stuck for three-and-a-half hours on the tarmac on board the flagship superjumbo in Los Angeles on Sunday, US time, while engineers tried to rectify technical faults.

 

Eventually passengers on QF12 were off-loaded after the crew had exceeded their allowable on-duty hours. The Sydney-bound flight was rescheduled for the next day and arrived this morning.

 

A Qantas spokesman said the plane had a brake indication fault that occurred twice, the second time after an attempted repair.

 

It is the second time this week Qantas passengers have been stuck on board an A380 for hours.

 

The incident mirrors Monday's hold-up at Melbourne Airport, where almost 450 passengers were stuck on board an A380 for more than five hours while engineers tried to fix a technical fault.

 

The repairs dragged on and eventually passengers were let off the plane after the flight was postponed to the next day.

 

Qantas blamed the strict new security screening regime required for US flights to America for the decision to keep passengers on board for so long.

 

Bizarrely, the two incidents were happening almost simultaneously, with the delay hitting the LA flight as passengers prepared to disembark the faulty A380 in Melbourne.

 

Since the New Year, Qantas has suffered outages of its check-in system, baggage system and aircraft malfunctions that have caused lengthy delays to the travel plans thousands of passengers in Australia and internationally.

 

http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-news/another-long-tarmac-wait-for-qantas-a380-passengers-20100106-ltbw.html

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and people wonder why not go for the A350 rather than A330E... This probably reiterates the point that sometimes, certain airlines just aren't in a position to take such risks with new aircraft types

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and people wonder why not go for the A350 rather than A330E... This probably reiterates the point that sometimes, certain airlines just aren't in a position to take such risks with new aircraft types

 

Older aircraft is immune to mechanical fault? What about MH 772 as reported by Mohd Idham above?

 

:drinks:

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Not immune of such, but Airbus has a tendency to have 'bugs' in their new aircraft designs, only to be ironed out a little later in the production period.

that is very general

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