Passengers’ frustration turns to violence after flights delayed

Thousands of angry Lion Air customers have lashed out at the airline following severe flight delays in Jakarta, with a group storming the tarmac.

The Jakarta Globe reported that nearly 500 police officers have been called in to deal with outbreaks of violence and unrest at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport after passengers on carrier

Lion Air were forced to wait for up to 24 hours for their flights, with little or no explanation by the airline.

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Passengers told the Globe they were not given any food or accommodation while they waited.

According to television station reports, some passengers confronted Lion Air officials, blocking them from leaving airport waiting rooms and demanding explanations.

The Globe reported that on Friday, a group of passengers managed to get onto the tarmac and beseiged a parked Lion Air plane.

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“There are hundreds, even thousands of passengers stranded,” one passenger, who goes the name Aldi, told the Jakarta Globe on Friday.

“Just imagine, since morning not a single passenger was flown. We just want a refund, but don’t know who to talk to. There was no one at [Lion Air’s] counter, the manager is nowhere to be seen, we
can’t call [Lion Air’s] call centre.”

According to eGlobal, passengers smashed computers and office equipment in their anger.

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The airline has reportedly apologised and blamed “foreign object damage” to three aircraft for the flight delays.

Lion Air co-founder Rusdi Kirana said that the issue was compounded by four other planes being unavailable due to maintenance.

“We do understand that we made a mistake,” he told Reuters. “It is a good lesson for us concerning coordination between the commercial and engineering teams.”

The airline has reportedly promised to give affected passengers compensation or a free ticket.

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