Scores of travellers were left in the lurch earlier this week after Jetstar ushered them off their flight home, put them on a ferry and left them to fend for themselves in a packed-out Queensland tourist town.
More than 100 passengers, including young families, were left with no where to sleep after being ferried off Hamilton Island following a flight cancellation on Monday night.Airlie Beach residents rallied to provide food and places to sleep for the stranded travellersDenva Suttie's family's Whitsundays holiday ended in anything but a relaxed fashion."We hadn't been on a holiday for a long, long time — before our kids were born.
Passengers were put on a ferry to Airlie Beach because there was no accommodation available on Hamilton Island.Despite being told that accommodation for passengers "would be sorted out at Airlie Beach," Mr Suttie said that was not what happened once they arrived at the Port of Airlie terminal after dark.
Stranded passengers were left without anywhere to stay in Airlie Beach, which was at capacity because of the school holidays.In a heartwarming display of generosity, many locals opened their homes for the night after hearing the travellers were stranded. Operations manager Edward Deakes said the community's spirit helped to replace a lot of anger with relief.
"They basically just put 150 people on a boat and sent them to the mainland and good luck with that," he said."The whole town did rally and they turned a very ordinary experience into a really positive community-based one."Mr Suttie said he had been left to feel like just a number by the airline and Hamilton Island airport."It's really disgusting.
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