AirAsia flight chaos: Passengers ‘crying and struggling to breathe’ during ‘technical fault’ delays take off

Max Corstorphan
The Nightly
Passengers on an AirAsia flight have reported a power failure on board, leading to panic.
Passengers on an AirAsia flight have reported a power failure on board, leading to panic. Credit: Supplied

A technical fault has caused flight chaos onboard an international flight from a major Australian airport, reportedly leaving passengers ‘in tears and struggling to breathe’.

AirAsia flight QZ 533 was preparing to depart Perth for Jakarta at 2am local time when the aircraft experienced a technical fault.

A passenger told Nine News people began crying during the blackout which occurred while the plane was still on the ground. It was claimed 17 people had then opted to disembark from the flight after the incident.

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A Perth Airport spokesperson has confirmed staff were advised of a fault affecting the aircraft but were not aware of the cause of the issue.

In a statement, a Perth Airport spokesperson confirmed, “Our teams were made aware of a technical issue affecting QZ 533 while at the bay. We were not made aware of what the technical issue was. The flight has since taken off.”

The technical fault prevented the flight leaving Perth International Airport for more than an hour.

The flight eventually took off at 3.08am local time.

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