Plane breaks down, passengers stuck at Taraz airport

A Scae Airlines plane, operating a flight from Vietnam«s Phu Quoc Island to Yekaterinburg, made a scheduled stop for refueling in the Kazakh city of Taraz. After that, the departure was postponed, and the delay has already exceeded 14 hours.

One of the passengers, Olga, described the situation:

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 isn»t even a crew. We haven«t slept for a day, there»s no clarity. Most have children, some very young. This uncertainty is frightening; we«re just hostages like in a disaster movie, sitting in a tiny pen.

People were forced to spend the night in the airport terminal. Some settled on chairs in the waiting area, others tried to rest on chairs in a local cafe.

Another passenger shared details:

The pilot ran past us and said he wouldn«t fly on this plane because his life is more valuable. 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. There»s no official representative, no food, no tea, no coffee, no information.

On the morning of January 21, a representative of the airline came out to the stranded passengers. He stated the reason for the flight cancellation:

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. They«re waiting for a part; the part has to fly in.