Plane Breaks Down En Route from Vietnam, Stranding Yekaterinburg Passengers in Kazakhstan

Residents of Yekaterinburg flying from Phu Quoc Island (Vietnam) are stuck in a Kazakhstan airport. The Scat Airlines plane landed for refueling in Taraz the day before and was supposed to continue its flight in an hour. But the departure has already been delayed for over 14 hours.

“The airline representative isn«t saying anything. First it was fog, but the fog cleared six hours ago, then the plane is faulty, then there»s not even a crew,” one of the passengers, Olga, said. “We haven«t slept for a day, there»s no clarity. Most of us have children, some have very young ones. This uncertainty is frightening; we«re just hostages like in a disaster movie, sitting in a tiny pen.”

The passengers spent the night at the airport: some settled in chairs in the waiting area, others slept on chairs in a cafe.

“The pilot ran past us and said he wouldn«t fly on this plane because his life is more valuable,” a passenger on the plane said. “We»re all scared. It«s cold in the airport; those who have hats are wearing them, those with jackets are in them, and some are in thin sweaters or T-shirts. No official representative, no food, no tea, no coffee, no information.”

Only on the morning of January 21 did an airline representative come out to the passengers and announce the reason for the flight delay.

“We checked, tested the plane, started it twice already. The captain didn«t approve the flight. In this situation, I can»t do anything more. We«re waiting for a part; the part should arrive by plane,” the airline representative told the passengers.

Read our guide: what to do if your flight is delayed. We explain what rights passengers have during long waits.