Not happy ... Passengers were promised direct flights to Bali. Source: Supplied
BUDGET airline AirAsia X has angered passengers and thrown plans into chaos after cancelling direct flights from Melbourne to Bali and giving flyers only a day’s notice.
The Malaysian carrier failed to gain approval from Australian and Indonesian aviation bodies for the new route, which was due to start on Boxing Day.
The news was broken to passengers via text message on Christmas Day, Fairfax reports.
Instead of flying customers directly from Melbourne to Bali, the flights will instead go via Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia — adding at seven hours to the six-hour journey.
A bit Grinchy? AirAsia X chief executive Azran Osman-Rani. Source: News Limited
The reshuffle meant some travellers would arrive in Bali a day later than originally planned, forcing some to miss family weddings and waste costly hotel bookings.
The airline had been heavily advertising the direct route, but a spokesman said the approval process encountered an “unforeseen delay”.
It is not known how many passengers are affected by the stuff-around, but Julie Chumbley was among the irate holiday makers to blast the airline on social media.
“Thankyou for wrecking our family Christmas and my daughters wedding (sic),” she wrote.
She explained that her son was supposed to walk her daughter down the aisle, but the detour to Malaysia meant he would miss the ceremony.
“Advertising was fierce for sucking Australian consumers into thinking that you would really be flying Melbourne to Bali direct from 26/12!” she wrote.
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