Coldplay fans to miss Perth concert after flight cancellations and Robbie Williams fans miss Sydney gig

Virgin Australia has revealed what will happen to the heartbroken passengers that had their concert plans thrown into jeopardy after several flights were cancelled abruptly. See who is affected.

Hundreds of Coldplay and Robbie Williams fans have been left furious after several Virgin flights were cancelled overnight, throwing their concert plans into chaos.

A Virgin Australia flight headed to Perth on Wednesday was abruptly cancelled after passengers began boarding the afternoon flight in Adelaide. The flight was scheduled to land in Perth at 7.10pm local time.

Passengers were unable to reschedule their booking as all flight services to Perth are currently unavailable until Saturday.

More flights were also cancelled on Thursday, including a 6am and 9am Virgin flight which left even more customers furious.

Many of those passengers were on their way to see Williams in Sydney Thursday night and were offered an alternate flight, however, were told their plane would land at 8pm AEDT as the singer took to the stage.

Others were heading to Perth to see Coldplay who have shows on both Saturday and Sunday and aren’t playing gigs in any other states.

@VirginAustralia kicking people off flights to #Perth and changing the flights to Saturday. Not sure how we’re going to make the @coldplay concert. @7NewsMelbourne @9NewsMelb pic.twitter.com/QrLUSuyLrN

— crumlord (@mattrech95) November 15, 2023

“If they don’t refund me that will be worse. I will miss Coldplay. When am I going to see Coldplay again?,” one woman told Sunrise.

Another said: “Now we’re not going to be able to go to Perth at all and see Coldplay or do all the activities we had planned.

“We were meant to be boarding when they announced that we weren’t going.”

Fans are furious they will miss British rock band Coldplay in Perth.

And while affected passengers have been offered alternative flights on Monday, that will be far too late for the show playing on Saturday and Sunday.

“Due to a number of factors including resourcing and airport curfews, two Virgin Australia services were cancelled from Adelaide last night,” a Virgin Australia spokesperson said.

“We sincerely apologise to our guests who are impacted. Our team is working hard to re-accommodate them.

Some passengers took to Twitter to also voice their frustration over the last minute cancellations and the hundreds of dollars possibly lost in concert tickets and accommodation.

“The worst experiences today with Virgin Australia, who changed our flight in less than 6 hours due to “downside of the plane” in a peak week with Coldplay concerts and having tickets 6 months in advance,” a woman posted to X.

The worst experiences today with @VirginAustralia , who changed our flight in lest than 6 hours due to “downside of the plane” in a peak week with Coldplay concerts and having tickets 6 months in advance.

— Helen Farley (@helfa31) November 14, 2023

Other airlines are also experiencing cancellations out of Adelaide.

Nearly 134,000 people will flock to Optus Stadium across the two nights on November 18 and 19 to see Coldplay with 30 per cent of these coming from out of the state.

The blockbuster event is the first time the pop rock band will play in Australia in seven years, and the first time in Perth for 14 years.

FOR THOSE AFFECTED

• All guests travelling to Sydney will be re-accommodated on flights today.
• Guests travelling to Perth have been re-accommodated on flights over the next few days.
• For those guests requiring urgent travel to Perth for the weekend, they are encouraged to contact Virgin Australia’s Guest Contact Centre on 13 67 89.

In line with Virgin’s Guest Compensation Policy guests were offered:

• The cost of hotel accommodation up to AUD$200 per room per night.
• The cost of airport transfers (e.g., taxi, Uber, train, ferry, or bus).
• Meal costs up to AUD$30 per person per night (if you are not at your home port).
• Costs incurred for reasonable personal items (if you are not at your home port).
• Where the replacement flight is not suitable, guests are offered a refund.