TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Starlux Chair Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) on Sunday (May 7) flew to Japan to personally apologize to passengers who were forced to sleep overnight in the Narita International Airport due to delays caused by crosswinds, and announced a full refund to over 300 passengers.
On Saturday (May 6), Starlux Airlines Flight AJX800 was forced to divert to Nagoya due to strong crosswinds at Narita Airport. It was originally scheduled to land at Narita at 12:45 p.m. that afternoon, but was not able to touch down until 8 p.m. after arriving from Nagoya, reported ETtoday.
This led to a series of delays with Flights JX801 and JX803, ultimately forcing over 300 passengers to sleep in sleeping bags at Narita Airport. A backlash soon ensued with videos surfacing on social media showing angry passengers confronting Starlux staff for an explanation for the delays.
Early on Sunday morning, Chang flew to Narita Airport to apologize personally to the passengers who were affected by the delays. Chang said that his airline was very sorry for the inconvenience, and added that, "I also find this unacceptable," and promised the round-trip tickets would be refunded, reported Mirror Media.
The public relations head of the airline was cited by the news agency as saying that Starlux Airlines has already refunded the travel expenses for 302 passengers. The spokesperson emphasized that, "We believe we've done enough," and that no alternative compensation packages will be offered.
With a round trip ticket from Taipei to Tokyo costing about NT$19,000 (US$619), the airline is estimated to have issued approximately NT$5.7 million in refunds for the delays.