Townsville storm: Passenger slams Virgin Australia for handling of Cairns flight diversion

A Townsville woman has hit out at Virgin Australia for its alleged handling of a flight detour to Cairns, which left some passengers stranded and sleeping on the terminal floor.

A passenger has detailed her ordeal after her Virgin Australia flight to Townsville was diverted to Cairns due to storms. File picture.

A Virgin Australia passenger left stranded at Cairns Airport due to Townsville’s wild storm has claimed the airline left her feeling unsafe and “bawling her eyes out” after her flight was diverted.

Hailie-Jade Bimrose-Polson, 20, has slammed the airline for a lack of communication after her flight VA383 from Brisbane was one of three diverted to Cairns on Monday night due to storms.

Ms Bimrose-Polson claimed she and other passengers were only told about the diversion when the plane was directed to a holding pattern near Innisfail, past Townsville, before it landed in Cairns about midnight.

Flights to Townsville were diverted to Cairns Airport on Monday night due to storms. Picture: Brendan Radke.

She said passengers then had to wait on board for 20 minutes before they disembarked, and then waited another hour for news about accommodation and alternative transport.

“Nothing got said about our flight, we got told to wait and see what happens,” Ms Bimrose-Polson said.

“Other people, their flights were getting called out for them for the next day but for Virgin, you went around and asked people (staff and security guards) and nobody knew anything.”

Townsville's Hailie-Jade Bimrose-Polson, 20, has lashed out at Virgin Australia for a lack of support after her flight got diverted to Cairns due to storms. Picture: Facebook.

“I called my partner bawling my eyes out, I felt unsafe staying at the airport and I didn’t know where I was going to be staying.”

Ms Bimrose-Polson got emergency accommodation from a friend of her father, but said many other passengers started “scattering” around the floor of the terminal with minimal accommodation available at local hotels.

Virgin eventually organised buses to take stranded passengers from the airport to Townsville at 7am on Tuesday, but Ms Bimrose-Polson said she and her concerned father, Trevor Polson, weren’t notified.

“If we knew about that I would have been waiting at the airport … Dad and I didn’t get sent an email, a message or anything,” she said.

“I never want to have to experience it ever again … it was a really crappy thing to happen to a lot of people.”

Mr Polson said he drove up to Cairns to collect his daughter after he spent hours calling Virgin’s customer service line.

When he eventually did get through, he said operators told him passengers would not receive any compensation due to the coaches being arranged.

“It cost me $65 of fuel up and back and a day at work for me and my daughter,” he said.

“We have not received anything about alternative options or an apology … it’s pretty unprofessional.”

Another passenger on the flight, Denise Harper, who was travelling with her young daughter, described the situation as “a shambles”, and said she had already applied to get her emergency accommodation reimbursed.

She said Virgin also didn’t alert her about the buses to Townsville.

“There were no announcements over the PA system in the one-and-a-half hours we spent in the airport … I don’t understand why they couldn’t be more communicative.”

The Bulletin understands Virgin could not find suitable accommodation for all guests due to a lack of hotel availability in Cairns, and the bus was only made available to those passengers who stayed overnight in the terminal.

The airline’s guest compensation policy outlines that affected travellers can claim back $220 per night for hotel accommodation, airport transfers, and $50 for meals.

“Sometimes unforeseeable factors such as weather can impact our operations,” a Virgin Australia spokesman said.

“We sincerely apologise to guests who were affected by this disruption, which was necessary for the safety of our guests and crew.”

Originally published as Townsville storm: Passenger slams Virgin Australia for handling of Cairns flight diversion