Qantas slammed after Dallas airport flight delayed forcing passengers to sleep on floor

Qantas has been slammed after one of its flights was delayed for a second time and its passengers left stranded at Dallas Fort Worth Airport and forced to sleep in the terminal.

More than 300 passengers were onboard the Boeing 787-9 as it prepared to take off for Sydney Airport on Wednesday.

Flight crew detected an engineering issue and forced the plane off the tarmac so it could be repaired prompting Qantas to announce the flight would be delayed.

Qantas has been slammed after one of its flights was delayed for a second time and its passengers left stranded at Dallas Fort Worth Airport and forced to sleep in the terminal (stock image)

See also  Mystery blue raincoat 'covered with gun residue' prosecutors say Murdaugh left at his mother's home

More than 300 passengers were onboard the Boeing 787-9 as it prepared to take off for Sydney Airport on Wednesday (stock image)

The repairs took longer than expected and by the time it was finished the airline announced the plane would not reach Sydney Airport before the travel curfew.

The flight was delayed for a second time with passengers told they would need to book their own hotel with the closest accommodation a $100 Uber drive away.

Guardian Australia’s advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith said passengers opted to sleep on the floor at the terminal rather than pay the hefty price for transport.

‘So the people with liquidity took a $100 Uber to the only hotel,’ she wrote on Twitter.

‘The rest slept on the floor. 9am when we’d been told to check in … no Qantas staff came.’

Ms Gordon-Smith complained no airline staff were available at the terminal to guide passengers or help them with their inquiries.

‘A plane-load of people is at check in with nowhere to go and no guidance,’ she wrote.

‘The Qantas desk isn’t just unmanned it has become a Lufthansa desk, and 300 people have checked bags to nowhere.’

Guardian Australia’s advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith said passengers opted to sleep on the floor at the terminal rather than pay the hefty price for transport

Brynn O’Brien was among the passengers on the plane who said there were no airline staff available at the terminal to provide updates to confused travellers

Passenger Brynn O’Brien added staff ‘were doing their absolute best in awful circumstances last night, but there just aren’t any staff on the ground today to update/assist people stuck at the airport.’ 

Qantas asked its passengers to keep the receipts for any travel expenses and that they would be reimbursed. 

An airline spokesperson said the flight had taken off 23 hours after it was initially scheduled to leave the airport. 

‘We know that this is a difficult situation for our customers whose plans have been disrupted, and we apologise for the inconvenience,’ he said.

‘Our team at Dallas Fort Worth airport provided customers with assistance after the initial delay and are helping customers ahead of the delayed departure,’ the spokesperson said.