Passengers bemoan lack of information MADINA: The Director of Prince Muhammad Bin Abdul Aziz Airport in Madina has said that dust and sandstorms experienced at the end of last week in the region are still the cause of the continuing flight delays over subsequent days. Abdul Fattah Atta said that 28 flights were postponed Thursday, and shared the concern of passengers left waiting for new flight times over Thursday and Friday. “Many had already gone through all procedures and had boarding cards before they were surprised to learn that their flight times remained unknown,” he said. “I can understand what happened to the passengers, and we tried to calm nerves and help them understand the situation.” He said that some passengers who boarded the bus from the terminal to aircraft refused to descend. “They stayed there quiet a while and did not want to descend, but in the end we managed to persuade them to return to the departures terminal until aircraft were ready,” he said. “Aircraft require proper preparation in coordination with the airline before transporting passengers, and we are drawing up a report on the situation which will be sent to the General Authority of Civil Aviation.” Dozens of passengers at terminals 3 and 4 remained for over an hour on a terminal bus that was supposed to take them to board an aircraft after they were asked by authorities to return to the terminals. The 9.30 A.M. flight to Riyadh eventually departed at 1.30 P.M. Atta noted that Madina airport “was not the only one affected” by the weather, and said that the events were beyond the airport's control. “The wave of sand brought operations at the airport to a halt on Wednesday evening and throughout Thursday, leading to flight cancellations the effect of which carried over to Friday and Saturday's flights,” he said. “All the ramifications of the weekend's events are being dealt with and all flights will soon be on schedule.” Many internal and international flights were still running late on Saturday and passengers could be seen sleeping on seats in terminals. One passenger said his 6.30 A.M. flight on Sunday had been postponed until 11 A.M. when it was announced that it was delayed again, and then rescheduled for 9 A.M. Saturday morning. “We've been waiting now for three hours and we're still stuck in departures,” he said. “We've been told there is one flight at 11 P.M. and another at two in the morning.” One man attempting to fly to Arar said his flight was originally supposed to leave at 1 P.M. on Friday, but after waiting with no further information until 7.30 P.M. he and fellow passengers were told that the flight had been rescheduled for Saturday 9.30 A.M. “The departure time was two hours ago now, and we're all still waiting,” he said. Two university students traveling together said their patience was wearing thin. “First it was a fault with the aircraft, then it was sand and dust, and now it's the plane arriving late,” they said. Another passenger lamented the lack of facilities and care for passengers forced into long waits, especially the elderly and disabled, as well as the lack of responsiveness of airport staff. “Contrary to what you see in the adverts, when we've tried to inquire about what's gone wrong, how long we should wait or whether we should just return home, we've been given no help whatsoever,” he said. An official at the terminal, when asked for an explanation as to why passengers were not being kept informed of the situation, said the question should be directed at the terminal supervisor. The terminal supervisor said, however, that the question should instead go to the airport operations manager.
