Malaysia Airlines apologises to stranded Doha-KL passengers for over 24-hour wait

Malaysia Airlines has released a statement of apology to passengers impacted by the delay of flight MH165 from Doha to Kuala Lumpur which was bound to fly on 12 August. 

The delay reportedly impacted subsequent flights between Kuala Lumpur and Doha on 13 and 14 August too. 

In its statement, Malaysia Airlines said it is working hard to resolve the issues related to its aircraft engine and is committed to minimising further disruptions to its operations. 

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"Malaysia Airlines regrets the prolonged delay of flight MH165 from Doha to Kuala Lumpur on 12 August 2024. Passengers have been reallocated on flights offered by Qatar Airways, while some are being accommodated at hotels near the airport in Doha with full board meal arrangements," said Malaysia Airlines in a statement when A+M reached out. 

"Malaysia Airlines is working hard to resolve the issues related to its aircraft engine and is committed to minimizing further disruptions to its operations. Malaysia Airlines apologises to passengers for the disruption to their travel plans and appreciates their patience and understanding. Safety remains the number one priority to Malaysia Airlines," it added. 

The airlines reportedly added that all passengers had been reallocated on flights offered by Qatar Airways, while some are being accommodated at hotels near the airport in Doha with full-board meal arrangements. 

In addition, safety remains its highest priority, Malaysia Airlines reportedly said. 

A+M has reached out to Malaysia Airlines for a statement. 

According to New Straits Times, passengers who were bound for Kuala Lumpur from Doha were left stranded at Hamad International Airport for over 24 hours. 

It was reported that stranded passengers were not provided with meals or care packs and had their passports collected multiple times with the situation remaining unclear. The passengers received no further instructions from the airline and were uncertain on whether they will be flying out, reported New Straits Times. 

Passengers have also taken to social media platform X to express their frustration. One passenger who goes by @faizalhamssin on X said that a significant number of passengers, including children and the elderly, were left without hotel arrangements or basic amenities such as food and water. 

Faizal said that this isn't his first time and that his transfer experience in May was horrible too. He later questioned what Malaysia Airlines is going to do to "fix this in the long run". 

"Kuala Lumpur to Doha was supposed to be an opportunity for Malaysia Airlines to showcase its product to Qatar Airways codeshare passengers, but now it's doing the exact opposite," said Faizal. 

Faizal's latest tweet, at 3:16am SGT on 14 August 2024, revealed that he boarded his flight "16 hours after arriving in Doha". 

Malaysia Airlines faced a similar issue earlier in August when a flight from London to Kuala Lumpur was diverted to Doha due to technical issues. 

According to a statement by Malaysia Airlines, in the interest of safety, the pilot in command on flight MH1 made the decision on 4 August to divert to ensure the issue was rectified before proceeding to the intended destination of Kuala Lumpur. 

The flight was carrying 280 passengers and 16 crew members and landed safely at 7.21am Doha time on 5 August. Passengers were accommodated at hotels near the airport, and some were transferred on other flights. 

It added that Malaysia Airlines staff in Doha were on hand both at the airport and at the hotel to provide "continuous information and assistance" to reallocate remaining passengers on the next available flights. 

However, passengers A+M spoke to who were on the flight reported a vastly different situation. A passenger, Edward Harcourt, senior vice president, QS Quacquarelli Symonds, said that the reason given to them for the diversion was that there was a malfunction in the weather navigation system. 

Harcourt told A+M that the plane landed and that passengers exited the plane to "complete chaos". 

Harcourt said that there were no Malaysia Airlines staff on ground and that they were herded around the airport for the next four to five hours with local staff attempting to assist. 

Eventually, passengers were taken to local hotels without their luggage and were told to wait for further instructions, he said. 

He added that they were told that Malaysia Airlines had made the decision to fix the plane in question rather than arranging alternatives. Harcourt said that they were told that the airline would be flying over parts and that they would be able to depart on 6 August at 10am local time. However, two hours before departure, passengers were told that the plane was not ready and that the earliest it would depart would be 2pm on 7 August. 

"The communication with passengers was patchy with conflicting information coming in to us," said Harcourt, explaining that many were still stranded 60 hours after the unscheduled stop.

He added that Malaysia Airlines' customer service was also either unreachable or only gave them computer-generated and unhelpful responses. 

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