Virgin flight diverted in New Zealand, passengers stuck at Christchurch

A Virgin flight departing Queenstown, New Zealand had to divert to Christchurch on Monday evening, forcing passengers to find their own accommodation.

Some passengers are still stranded in Christchurch and will be unable to return on a Virgin flight to Brisbane until Wednesday.

Flight VA116 from Queenstown to Brisbane was redirected to Christchurch, where it landed safely on Monday night.

The cause was “an engineering issue”, a Virgin spokesperson said.

One passenger told this masthead that after passengers disembarked, they were moved to the air-bridge to wait as the plane was checked.

When the plane couldn’t be started, they were sent back into the terminal, he said.

“An entire plane load of people had to find their own accommodation and rebook their own way back to Brisbane,” the passenger said.

Virgin has no staff or counter at Christchurch.

Christchurch Airport workers reportedly assisted the passengers.

A spokesperson for Virgin said: “We are working to safely get everyone to Brisbane as soon as possible, and our guest relations team is in direct contact with impacted guests today to keep them updated.”

Virgin Australia’s passengers are invited to submit claims via the company’s website for compensation. It’s expected that guests will be provided hotel accommodation on Tuesday evening.

“We sincerely apologise for the disruption to our guests’ travel plans,” the Virgin spokesperson said.

The passenger said: “I’ll never fly them internationally again.”

The latest aviation failure comes as the federal government considers new consumer protections for the flying public.

The reforms are expected to clarify the responsibility of the airlines but not to include a compensation scheme that compels airlines to reimburse passengers the carriers are responsible for in the event of delays.

Ian Douglas, a senior lecturer at the School of Aviation at the University of NSW, said that “at the moment, Australian airlines decide their own policy rather than adhering to a rule for the industry”.

Consequently, “in Australia consumers routinely bear the risk of cancelled flights, while in Europe and the US, airlines bear more of the risk”.

Virgin has had trouble flying from Queenstown before.

In April, passengers from one of its flights were forced to bunk down at Queenstown airport after their flight was cancelled with no replacement options. Passengers returning to Sydney from New Zealand instead had to sleep in the airport after an engineering issue delayed Virgin flight VA162.

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