A Jetstar flight from Melbourne to Bali was forced to make a U-turn more than four hours into the journey after being denied permission to land in Indonesia. The Boeing 787 had been in the air for over four hours of the six-hour flight when it was turned back due to a last-minute aircraft swap that had not been approved by Indonesian authorities.
The budget carrier blamed a “miscommunication” with the local regulator. The flight, which departed Tullamarine airport around 11pm on Tuesday after a five-hour delay, was originally scheduled to operate on an Airbus A321. However, the airline swapped it for a larger Boeing 787 to carry more passengers during the holidays, but failed to communicate the change to Indonesian authorities.
Jetstar issued an apology and said it had launched a review into the incident. “We know this has been an extremely frustrating experience for customers and sincerely apologise for what happened,” a spokesperson said. Affected passengers were rebooked on a later flight and provided with hotel rooms, meal vouchers, and additional airport transport costs. The airline also offered a $200 travel voucher.
The incident comes days after a Qantas flight to London was forced to make an emergency landing in Baku, Azerbaijan, leaving passengers stranded before Christmas.
