Lion Air Group Apologizes after Flight Delayed for 28 Hours

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Lion Air Group management issued an apology for 20 passengers of the IW 1187 flight from Sorong to Raja Ampat on December 24, who were affected by the 28-hour flight delay.

The airline’s management claims that the Wings Air ATR 72-600 that should have flown from Ambon to Sorong underwent technical difficulties.

“We had to conduct a technical inspection which was related to the flight safety and security,” said Lion Air Group Corporate Communication, Ramaditya Handoko in a text message we received on Monday, December 25.

Previously reported, one of the Lion Air passengers was Scott Cunliffe who took it to social media and went viral.He complained that he was stuck in Sorong for 28 hours. Scott even pleaded on his Facebook page for anyone to provide him with a contact number or identity of the Jakarta Lion Air management.

Once the plane arrived from Ambon, the airliner managements decided that they must delay the flight for a longer period of time. The airline claims that the passengers were already compensated accordingly based on the airline’s existing rules. “The passengers were flown the following day on December 25 at 10:45 AM,” said Handoko.

Less than a week earlier, Lion Air also issued an apology for an incident where 25 of its passengers were not accommodated for their Jakarta-Denpasar flight on December 20.

KARTIKA ANGGRAENI