Qantas, Jetstar to help stranded passengers
National Australian airline Qantas and lowcost carrier Jetstar are offering special fares to tourists who have been left stranded due to the financial collapse of Air Australia.
Air Australia management declared on Thursday night that the airline was going into voluntary administration, which resulted in the immediate grounding of its entire fleet.
Yesterday morning, Qantas announced that it was drawing up plans to help Australian tourists left stranded, and posted the following message on its website:
“The following arrangements are available to Air Australia customers holding a valid ticket issued on/before February 17 who are affected by the grounding of Air Australia.
“For Air Australia routings that are covered by the Qantas Network, Qantas will offer the same routing for the rebooking. On Air Australia routings that are not covered by the Qantas Network, Qantas will offer alternative routings.”
The staterun Australian Broadcasting Commission quoted a source as saying that Air Australia did not even have the resources to buy fuel to take passengers back home. About 4,000 passengers have been left either stranded or with tickets they will not be able to use.
Phuket International Airport director Prathuang Sornkham said on Thursday: “I was informed at around midnight that about 260 Australians were stranded as their flight to Australia would not be not departing. They should contact the sales desk at the airport for assistance.”
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