Jetstar passengers ‘abandoned’ at a Queensland airport

A plane full of people bound for Melbourne were forced to sleep on the floor of a Queensland airport last night after being “abandoned” by Jetstar.

The passengers have been stranded at Proserpine Airport for almost 24 hours after their flight was cancelled, and haven’t been able to leave due to a lack of information on when their next flight will be scheduled.

Press PLAY below to hear one of the stranded passengers telling Tom Elliott what happened

Passenger Simon told Tom Elliott elderly people and a child with special needs among those “abandoned” by the budget airline.

“A lot of people apparently lined up their own alternative emergency accommodation but Jetstar were still saying ‘No, hang on we’re getting a recovery plan together’ … and they just stalled and delayed and a lot of people missed out on their own arrangements,” he said.

The passengers have received vouchers to purchase food and drinks at the airport, but still don’t know when they’ll be able to fly out.

Jetstar says it was unable to fly an engineer to Proserpine to fix a plane due to bad weather, and a special flight to Brisbane for stranded passengers was unable to land due to fog.

The airline has apologised for putting customers through “an uncomfortable night”.

“We will always prioritise safety and we thank everyone for their patience and understanding as we work really hard to get them on their way today,” a Jetstar spokesperson said in a statement.