On Sunday (Sept 17) 70 frustrated passengers are reported to have stormed Brussels Airlines’ Airbus A330 at Kinshasa Airport following a 48-hour delay.
Flight SN358, scheduled to fly from Kinshasa to Brussels on Friday, September 15, was unable to depart due to a technical problem. This resulted in the flight’s cancellation, reports airspace-africa.com.
The flight was expected to take off on Saturday, but the technical problems persisted, resulting in another cancellation.
On Sunday, about 70 passengers stormed on to the tarmac to try to gain access to the aircraft. Security personnel had to intervene to protect the crew. After 45 minutes, the passengers returned to the airport terminal.
Pictures and videos of the incident have been circulating on social media. The airline was accused of a lack of assistance and support during the prolonged delay. Passengers claimed that food and drinks were not provided and said they had been neglected and mistreated.
However, Brussels Airlines denied the allegations, stating that passengers who did not reside in the Democratic Republic of the Congo had been provided with hotel accommodation and that their meal expenses were covered. The airline has since issued an apology for any inconvenience caused.
The flight finally took off on Sunday night.
