The drama surrounding Norwegian Air’s trouble-plagued Boeing 787 Dreamliners has continued, after brake troubles left hundreds of passengers stranded in New York over the New Year period. The Oslo-bound flight was due to leave on Tuesday morning Norway time, but after announcing several new departure times Norwegian delayed the flight indefinitely at midday on Tuesday.
The 276 passengers were angry they wouldn’t be home until January, reported newspaper VG. The delay also stranded hundreds of passengers on Norwegian Air’s New York to Stockholm flight, the next scheduled trip for the beleaguered Dreamliner.
Eivind Engen was among those stuck in New York. He told VG passengers were frustrated by the lack of communication from Norwegian. “We have received very little information, only an SMS every four hours or so,” he said. “The only thing they say is the problem isn’t resolved, and we need to stay at the hotel until further notice.” Engen said he expects compensation from Norwegian.
“We can only apologise for the situation facing the passengers, and we understand that it’s very frustrating,” said Norwegian’s Daniel Pilpel Kirchoff. He said passengers have been accommodated in hotels and given food and drinks. “We’re informing the affected passengers about the situation directly by SMS.”
The latest problems with Norwegian’s Dreamliners follow on from broken air conditioning on one Bangkok to Oslo flight this month, which saw 270 passengers face cabin temperatures of 32 degrees. A further 125 passengers spent Christmas Eve, the time Norwegians traditionally celebrate Christmas, on a flight between Florida and Oslo.
newsinenglish.no staff
