Frustrated Aussie travellers vent after being stuck in Bali

Thousands of Aussies who were stranded in Bali have slammed the lack of ‘compassion’ and ‘empathy’ they have received.

Hundreds of Australians are still stranded in Bali following numerous Jetstar flight cancellations since the start of September.

About 4000 passengers were affected when the problems began last week due to numerous engineering issues that the airline has experienced.

As of Monday afternoon, the majority of customers had been sent home and only 200 passengers were waiting for an alternative flight.

But numerous travellers who are either still stuck in Bali or just back in Australia have shared their horror stories from the taxing ordeal.

Thousands of Aussies’ Bali holidays quickly turned into a nightmare.

Melburnian Meagan Mulder, her husband Adrian and two kids, who had been holidaying with 60 friends and family in the island hotspot, said their travel plans had gone smoothly until it was time to fly home.

“We had 12 friends who were on the midnight flight last night, they had their flight cancelled, they can’t get another flight anywhere for seven people until Friday this week, so they’ve had to get more accommodation and everything,” she said.

She explained that another four friends were forced to book flights with another airline, forking out more than $10,000 to make a detour to Kuala Lumpur.

“For us, it’s a seven-hour delay but we’re getting home,” Ms Mulder said.

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Casey Emmerson and her girlfriend Kim were due to come home on September 1, but they are still stuck in Bali.

The Cranbourne locals’ flights have been cancelled twice by Jetstar as the pair desperately try to find a way home.

“Our only option to get home faster is via Qantas, which is over $1500 each, which isn‘t something we can afford, as we still have accommodation, meals, dog sitter fees etc to pay whilst here before getting reimbursed by Jetstar,” Ms Emmerson said.

“Jetstar have told us the next flight they can get us on is September 8 to arrive by September 9, which is unsuitable for both of us.

“I am self-employed and my girlfriend is a BAS agent … since being stuck in Bali, between us we have lost about $5000 income.”

She said the delays had created a lot of “unhappy” customers with her two businesses.

“I have a hamper business and had Father’s Day orders due to be picked up on Sunday morning. I had to message all my customers late on the Saturday night after Jetstar cancelled our flights for the second time and tell them that I wouldn’t be able to get home for them to pick up their Father’s Day hampers,” Ms Emmerson said.

“There were lots of very unhappy customers as it’s hard to find a Father's Day gift late on a Saturday night.

“Not to mention unhappy customers with my other business who have had to wait two months on a waitlist only to make them wait even longer for an oven clean.”

Ms Emmerson said she also chatted to another woman who had to pay $5500 for four people to return home.

The woman could not wait until September 9, as her husband had run out of blood pressure tablets.

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Another frustrated passenger, Pauline from Melbourne, had been trying to fly home from Bali for two days after losing her grandfather on Friday.

She finally boarded a flight with her family at 6.30pm on Sunday night.

“I’m exhausted. I just want to f***ing get home,” she said.

“We need to get home.

“All flights have been sold out, delayed, cancelled, we’ve been trying since Friday to get on the flight.”

Another angry customer, Kylie from Melbourne, who was travelling with her two children and partner, said she couldn’t find any information about the changes to her flight on Sunday.

“The most frustrating thing was that we weren't told about three of the delays, no information, no updates. Even online, you couldn’t find the information,” she said.

Frustrated Jetstar customers have been unable to get home from Bali. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Dominic and Maerise Dooley have been stuck in Bali with their two kids since the end of last month.

“It’s fair to say we’re frustrated … we want to get home to our life and work in Melbourne,” Mr Dooley told the Today Show on Tuesday.

“We were meant to fly back on August 31. We've had three cancellations and we‘re due to fly back on September 8. So it’s been an extra eight days.”

Ms Dooley said the communication they had received from Jetstar was “terrible”.

“I just feel that there's been no care for us whatsoever, no compassion, no empathy, nothing like that,” she said.

“It‘s really uncomfortable to have no control about getting back to Australia.

“We had to take it into our own hands and fly back Virgin because there was no help whatsoever and no compensation.

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Jamie-Lee Donohoe was stuck while her child’s special baby formula was running out.

“I’m in desperate need of help for baby formula please,” she posted on the Bali Bogans Facebook page.

“Jetstar have cancelled our flight back to Melbourne tonight and I had enough formula for my baby to last until maybe Monday but we can’t get a flight out until Wednesday now.

“She has allergies and is on a special medicated formula called Neocate Gold.”

The family were eventually saved by a good samaritan who offered to bring the baby formula with them on their flight over to Bali.

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A Jetstar spokesperson apologised for the inconvenience the disruption had caused.

“Unfortunately, our Boeing 787 fleet has been impacted by a number of issues, including a lightning strike, a bird strike, damage from an item on the runway and delays sourcing a specific spare part for one of our aircraft due to global supply chain challenges. The part has to be road freighted across the US,” they said.

“Our teams are working hard to get passengers on their way as soon as possible – we are putting on five special services to bring people home and booking seats on Qantas flights also.

“The majority of impacted passengers have now been reaccommodated and our teams are working hard to find the remaining 200 or so impacted passengers an alternative option.”

Jetstar’s fleet has been impacted by numerous issues that required engineering work, including a lightning

Jetstar Chief Pilot Jeremy Schmidt said the airline was working hard to accommodate customers.

“We would like to sincerely apologise for this disruption,” he said.

“For those no longer wishing to travel we are offering refunds and for those that require it, accommodation or meal vouchers.”

Jetstar has apologised for the inconvenience its customers have experienced. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

The airline scheduled 26 flights from Australia to Bali from Monday to Thursday.

Eight return services between Melbourne/Sydney and Denpasar have been cancelled since September 1, creating delays of up to 24 hours.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said they were ready to help any Australians who need assistance.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is aware of media reports of Jetstar flight cancellations in Bali,” they said.

“DFAT stands ready to offer consular assistance to any Australian citizen should they request it.”