Fuel supply issue overnight in Perth causing delays to flights
There's been chaos at airports across the country with a fuel supply issue overnight in Perth leaving domestic and international travellers stranded.
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00:00 Frustration around the country as flights in and out of Perth ground to a halt.
00:06 Captains ringing in every hour saying, "Don't know where the fuel is," but eventually we just get kicked off the airplane and then our flight's been cancelled.
00:14 In Sydney, this man was trying to get home to Perth after his son's baseball tournament in Lismore. He's now facing a roundabout trip home through Melbourne.
00:22 Just delays it. I don't know. I would have liked to be home tonight.
00:27 And there were flow-on effects elsewhere as passengers missed connecting flights.
00:31 I'm not too happy about it because I had to be in Perth tonight to make it to Singapore for another flight.
00:36 International flights were forced to divert to regional airports, leaving passengers stuck on the tarmac, including those on this 17-hour direct flight from London to Perth, which ended up refuelling in the mining town of Carartha in WA's north.
00:51 Hours later, the airport announced the problem was fixed.
00:54 We appear to have had air has been sucked into the distribution system. Even once we identified the fix, then was about a period of time for us to bleed that air out.
01:04 But delays are expected to continue throughout the weekend, with many passengers told they can't be rebooked for days.
01:10 Somebody is responsible for what is happening and there should be something done to help the passengers.
01:16 There's been some confusion over compensation, with Virgin Australia initially telling passengers they were not eligible.
01:22 However, a spokeswoman later corrected this, saying passengers could apply if they weren't being booked forward on future flights.
01:29 Other passengers stranded in Perth were told they wouldn't be given hotel accommodation, leaving some to face an extended wait at the airport.
01:36 the airport.
01:36 [BLANK_AUDIO]