300 Chinese Stranded in Phuket after City Airways Grounded over Safety Fears

 

PHUKET – Several hundred passengers from Hong Kong were stranded in Phuket Thailand when Thailand based City Airways stopped flying after local authorities refused the airline permission to use its airports over safety concerns.

Thai officials said the decision had been made because of safety concerns and worries over lax aircraft maintenance.

Reports indicate that the malfunctioning City Airways aircraft failed to meet international safety standards, making it unable to fly back to Hong Kong.

However, the airline did not take action to quickly designate a replacement aircraft to pick up the stranded passengers, causing the upset tourists to file complaints to the Chinese Embassy in Thailand.

Meanwhile, the airline has decided to solve the problem by dividing the stranded tourists into three groups comprising 100 people each at this point. The first group is put up at a hotel in Phuket at the airlines’ expense to wait for an available flight, whereas the second group is waiting at the airport for a connecting flight to Bangkok. The third group has decided to extend their trip in Thailand since no flights could be arranged at this point.