"200 airline passengers refuse to leave planes in Taiwan to protest delays"

Monday, February 7, 2005

200 airline passengers refuse to leave planes in Taiwan to protest delays
Agence France-Presse


TAIPEI, (AFP) - Some 200 Taiwanese airline passengers refused to leave their
aircraft for about an hour Monday in two separate protests against overnight
delays in flights from Macau, Taiwanese airport police said.

The protesters were among 596 passengers who arrived on two EVA Air flights
at Taiwan's Chiang Kai-shek airport after being forced to spend the night in
the Macau airport due to heavy fog.

The passengers who refused to leave their planes said they had been ignored
by the airline, which they claimed was trying to avoid putting them up in a
Macau hotel for the night.

"The airline repeatedly lied to us. Time and again they told us to stand by.
What they did was aimed to save the due accommodation fees," one passenger
was quoted by a local television as saying.

Police finally managed to get the passengers to disembark after an hour, but
they carried their protest into the airport, where they demanded 200 US
dollars in compensation from EVA Air, police officials said.

An EVA Air spokesman told AFP weather could not be used to demand
compensation for delays.

"Weather is a factor beyond control," the spokesman said, but the airline
later agreed to give each passenger 2,500 Taiwan dollars (78.86 US) and a
meal coupon worth 20 US dollars.

Some passengers declined the offer saying they would ask a non-profit
consumers protection group to arbitrate the dispute.

Dense fog has also snarled air traffic at Chiang Kai-shek, airport officials
said, adding that at least 80 international and 20 domestic flights had been
delayed since Sunday.


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