Australians stuck in Tokyo Narita Airside after JQ delays flight 24h

[encryptededdy]

Jetstar passengers trapped in Japanese airport after cancelled flight

www.9news.com.au

https://twitter.com/x/status/1563853906782060544

Was thinking about whether to post this in the Jetstar forum or here, but I think this is interesting for anyone who was curious like I am about "what happens if I'm transiting Narita and my outbound flight is missed/cancelled and I end up stuck overnight"?

No accomodations sucks, but no food nor water is even worse (assuming from this that there are no shops open at the time)

Anyway, I'm curious what's happened here.

1. Is there no emergency visa available? I was under the impression there was one, at least pre-covid.
2. Is this on Jetstar or the Japanese Authorities? Maybe there is an emergency visa but Jetstar didn't issue the correct documentation to allow it? I know at Sydney I think the airlines need to give you a special "cancelled flight" slip for you to go back through customs from airside
3. Doesn't Narita close overnight? Wonder what's happened here.
4. It seems like to me that Jetstar should've been able to provide at least some sort of food & drink
5. Where were they stuck? International Departures or Arrivals? I'm surprised there'd be no water in departures (surely a vending machine or something).

Curious to hear everybody's thoughts.

 

[DC3]

Flying Jetstar? Expectations should always be kept low to avoid disappointment.

Also, transiting any airport in Japan comes with risks, until the country opens up.

 

[encryptededdy]

surely a vending machine or something

To answer my own question, the OP later shared that they did have access to vending machines (but still no food).

OMAAT has also published a post on this. The note that the passengers were connecting off AY73. If booked through Finnair, I assume they would be eligible for EU261 compensation.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Some differences on what was offered to these pax in airside transit
Passengers always responsible for visa etc
Airline cannot change a countries visa - entry requirements.

abc.net.au
Australians stranded in Tokyo's Narita airport after cancelled Jetstar flight

news.com.au
Australians stuck in Japan airport without food or water after Jetstar cancelled flight to Sydney

Jetstar told news.com.au travellers were offered accomodation and food vouchers and confirmed those transiting through were unable to leave the airport.

 

[DC3]

Travelers "Stranded" At Narita Airport: Should We Feel Bad?

A couple of dozen travelers were stranded In the terminal at Narita Airport overnight. Is the blame going to the airline warranted?

onemileatatime.com

 

[RooFlyer]

Passengers always responsible for visa etc
Airline cannot change a countries visa - entry requirements.

No, but perhaps the airline might acquaint themselves with the country's visa/entry requirements & plan contingencies. Now this is just on pax speaking (ABC article above):

Australians can ordinarily enter Japan without a visa, but the border has been shut during the pandemic and only opened in recent months to foreigners with a visa and a negative COVID test.

This meant the passengers were barred from leaving the airport.

But Jetstar were not aware of this, and passengers were told to find a "place" to stay for the night, Mr Knight said.

"They were entirely unaware of the COVID situation," he said.

But the company condemns itself with this:

Jetstar, which is owned by Qantas, said the plane was delayed for 24 hours due to an engineering issue identified prior to departure.

The flight is expected to leave Monday evening.

"We sincerely apologise to our customers for the inconvenience caused," a statement from Jetstar said.

"We are working with Narita airport to determine how we can better accommodate transiting passengers during disruptions like this one."

No kidding? It never occurred to the airline that a tech issue may prevent an airplane from leaving, thus stranding passengers at a place where they can't leave & nothing open? Maybe JetStar hadn't noticed this:

It comes after months of cancelled and delayed flights created havoc across the globe as travel restrictions eased.

Clueless and contemptable.

 

[DC3]

Tough luck

 

[SydneySwan]

No, but perhaps the airline might acquaint themselves with the country's visa/entry requirements & plan contingencies. Now this is just on pax speaking (ABC article above):



But the company condemns itself with this:



No kidding? It never occurred to the airline that a tech issue may prevent an airplane from leaving, thus stranding passengers at a place where they can't leave & nothing open? Maybe JetStar hadn't noticed this:



Clueless and contemptable.

Well at least JetStar is still planning on flying them back to Australia rather than leave them in Japan and offering them a refund!

 

[Seat0B]

Well at least JetStar is still planning on flying them back to Australia rather than leave them in Japan and offering them a refund!

Its a mark of how bad things have become that this comment has the painful ring of truth and actual experiences behind it.

 

[DC3]

Remembering that it’s the government of Japan that prevented them from entering the country (between flights). Hotel accommodation, food and drink are within sight of the airport.

 

[RooFlyer]

food and drink are within sight of the airport.

I dare say food & drink could be had from inside the terminal, somewhere.

 

[Guvner]

Regardless of who is at fault, basic human decency dictates that at least water and some food should be made available by the airport authorities.
They are travelers stuck on Japanese soil in a multi-billion dollar airport, not criminals hiding in someone's back shed. What's a few dollars of groceries?
Saying "tough luck", "you flew JetStar" etc. reflects poorly on some of the posters here. Would you say that if it was your mother stuck there? Disappointing.

 

[encryptededdy]

I dare say food & drink could be had from inside the terminal, somewhere.

Depends when Jetstar informed them of the cancellation. If they informed them after the 9pm scheduled departure, and Narita airport closes at 11pm, it's possible they didn't have time to buy food after they realised they were stuck. Also, I'm unsure how many shops are in T3, the LCC terminal at Narita.

 

[RooFlyer]

Depends when Jetstar informed them of the cancellation. If they informed them after the 9pm scheduled departure, and Narita airport closes at 11pm, it's possible they didn't have time to buy food after they realised they were stuck. Also, I'm unsure how many shops are in T3, the LCC terminal at Narita.

Yeah, sorry, I wasn't addressing their particular situation - just that food & drink would have been available within the airport, not just external to it (which also wasn't available in the situation). It looks like drink vending machines were opened up at some stage for them.

 

[offshore171]

). It looks like drink vending machines were opened up at some stage for them.

Even that may have been difficult. These were transit passengers, so they may not have had any Japanese currency or SUICA cards to use the vending machines.

 

[DC3]

Regardless of who is at fault, basic human decency dictates that at least water and some food should be made available by the airport authorities.
They are travelers stuck on Japanese soil in a multi-billion dollar airport, not criminals hiding in someone's back shed. What's a few dollars of groceries?
Saying "tough luck", "you flew JetStar" etc. reflects poorly on some of the posters here. Would you say that if it was your mother stuck there? Disappointing.

You may not agree with other posters, but we are free to express views. Maybe stop criticising fellow AFFers or move on.

In any case, the full story will come out over the next few days, rather than relying on twitter content.

 

[encryptededdy]

Even that may have been difficult. These were transit passengers, so they may not have had any Japanese currency or SUICA cards to use the vending machines.

Yeah, even if you could find an ATM I doubt the machines would take high denomination notes. I guess if you have an iPhone you can activate a Suica on the phone and top it up with a foreign credit card, then use your phone to pay the vending machine.

 

[Guvner]

You may not agree with other posters, but we are free to express views. Maybe stop criticising posts, or move on.

In any case, the full story will come out over the next few days, rather than relying on twitter content.

I'm also free to express my views. If you can explain how "tough luck" adds value to the conversation, I'll move on .

 

[DC3]

I'm also free to express my views.

And sticking the boot into a fellow AFFer for expressing a view. Very poor form.

 

[Guvner]

And sticking the boot into a fellow AFFer for expressing a view. Very poor form.

Right back at you.