A WOMAN claims she was left “emotionally wrecked”What should have been a 90-minute flight ended up being a 35 hour ordeal.
Charmaine Smigielski, 70, was traveling from Tasmania to Sydney to visit her friend. She needed assistance to get to the hospital for her cancer treatment.
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But, she was forced to travel across Australia because of cancellations on flight after flight.
First, Charmaine’s 90 minute flight from Launceston in Tasmania (Australia) to Sydney was delayed by a mechanical issue. Eventually, passengers were allowed to board the aircraft.
But, one hour later, they were back on the plane and the flight was cancelled.
For her troubles, Charmaine was handed an $8(£4.50) food voucher as compensation.
Charmaine was able to explain her situation to Virgin Australia crew members. A fellow passenger heard Charmaine’s story and offered them their seats on a different flight from Melbourne to Sydney.
The flight was canceled, and she was left stranded in Launceston.
Virgin booked Charmaine in a hotel for the night and paid her taxi fare to the airport. But that wasn’t the end of her problems.
The hotel did not have any rooms when she arrived.
Charmaine finally found a place to sleep at the end of an exhausting day.
Her flight was once more changed. The new route took her from Launceston, Melbourne to Coolangatta, then to Sydney.
However, she managed to get off the ground and make it to Coolangatta. Unfortunately, her flight to Sydney was cancelled due to bad weather.
After being re-booked onto a flight to Sydney from Brisbane, Charmaine had to get a $340 (£192) taxi from Collangatta to make it in time for the next leg of her journey.
Charmaine arrived in Sydney just in time for her friend’s treatment.
She said A Current AffairShe was “wrecked” “disappointed”Her experience.
She stated that she was constantly being swindled. It’s hard, and it’s very tiring. I could have been anywhere else.
“I felt emotionally destroyed. When I got there, I felt totally wrecked. I’m so disappointed.
“I really thought they [Virgin Australia] were better than that.”
Virgin, after hearing about Charmaine’s story, refunded Charmaine the costs of all her flights and taxis, hotels, meals, and lodging.
A spokesperson for Virgin Australia stated to A Current Affair, “The safety and well-being of our guests is Virgin Australia’s number one priority.”
“Unfortunately, engineering problems caused the cancellation of the guest’s Launceston to Sydney service. The flights to Sydney that we were able, however, were affected by the subsequent weather events of Wednesday.
“Virgin Australia works hard for our guests to have a pleasant and stress-free travel experience. Unfortunately, due to outside factors, we were unable deliver.
“We have refunded all costs incurred related to the disruption our guest experienced, including taxis, hotels and meals. And in recognition of the unique compassionate circumstances of our guest’s travel purposes, we have also refunded the cost of the flights.”
Another woman was delayed for 90 minutes on her journey from Sydney to Melbourne.
This pilot showed us how to know if your flight will be delayed.
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