Sydney flight delay anger

Unhappy passengers on a Virgin Samoa to flight to Sydney, which did not depart at six yesterday morning, as scheduled, are fuming.

The Apia-Sydney flight was instead rescheduled for 2:50a.m. today, re-routed for Brisbane.

Yesterday morning, many passengers – including tourists - turned up at the Airport only to be told to go home.

An elderly man, who was travelling with his family, said the last minute cancellation was both “unfair” and “extremely unprofessional.”

“We live in Savai’i,” he told the Samoa Observer yesterday.

“On Sunday we caught the last ferry across and we slept at the wharf waiting for our flight. We were not informed about the delay at all until we arrived at the airport counter.”

The elderly resident said it was unfair for the Airline not to offer them accommodation and food.

“The people at the counter gave us that ‘tough luck’ look. I think they accommodated all the tourists but not us which I think it’s pretty sad.

“In our case, it’s not as if we can just hop on a canoe and paddle all the way back to Savai’i. It is not our fault that we are stranded here.”

The unhappy passenger said he “would have appreciated it if we were told before hand.”

According to the passenger, workers at the Virgin Samoa counter at Faleolo informed them that the delay was caused by an issue out of Sydney.

“We were told that the aircraft was supposed to have left Sydney before midnight because that’s when the Sydney airport shuts,” the passenger said.

“Apparently by midnight, the plane was still there and as a result, it couldn't leave.”

The delay also affected many passengers who were scheduled to arrive yesterday morning.

Sam, who has spent a week with his family in Samoa, said the delay was unfortunate.

“I think delayed flights are pretty much part and parcel of the travelling experience, especially if you book with a low-cost carrier."

“What I find frustrating though was the lack of warnings from the Airline. I felt sorry for my family because they prepared a lot of food stuff for me to take back to our relatives in Australia."

“All that stuff now has been dumped because I cannot take it. I’m just stuck here at the airport and there is nothing I can do about it.”

It was not possible to get a comment from Virgin Samoa yesterday.

Flights delay out of Auckland.

Meanwhile, restrictions have been lifted at Auckland Airport, after fog caused significant disruption for travellers on Monday morning.

The company said 58 domestic flights had been cancelled and 35 delayed. One international flight was delayed and two diverted. China Southern flight CZ335 was sent to Christchurch and a private aircraft from Melbourne had gone to

Wellington, while a flight from Singapore was also delayed.

MetService said there had been a lot of moisture around from recent bad weather, and it was still quite humid with light winds - a recipe for the thick blanket of fog that caused havoc at the airport. It said the forecast for later on Monday was clear. A large number of disgruntled passengers were stranded with their plans in limbo. It not only disrupted business meetings, but school holiday plans.

Queues of businessmen, individuals and families have packed out the domestic terminal.

One mother, who was travelling with two young children, said their plans to go fishing at Nelson's Golden Bay might have to wait until Tuesday.

Another woman said she had just got back from Samoa and needed to get home to pack, as she was due to fly to Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games.

Auckland Transport said the fog had also caused problems for ferry services.