Perth residents who are yearning for a holiday or mental health break have been devastated by a series of flight cancellations to Bali and other destinations this week.
Since Monday, Jetstar has been unable to leave Perth and Bali, leaving scores of West Australian residents unable to travel for the first time since the COVID 19 border closures were lifted.
The airline usually runs three flights per day on that route.
This is extremely frustrating for customers, especially during the school holiday period, and sincerely apologise for the disruption these delays have caused, a Jetstar spokeswoman said.
There was a mass disruption of flights into Darwin on Wednesday because of ongoing resourcing challenges, according to the airline.
All passengers travelling from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Brisbane were affected by the cancellation of all flights into the airport on Wednesday night.
A spokesman said the cancellations were due to operational difficulties. Lucy Summers and her family were supposed to fly from Perth to Bali early on Monday morning, but their excitement turned to disappointment when they received a text saying their flight had been cancelled.
The next available flight was not until July 11, which was the day after they planned to return, and was not an option for Ms Summers.
She said it was crushing news for the family who had been looking forward to a long-awaited return to Bali, which they call their happy place. The last couple of years with COVID and everything, it's really hit mental health, Ms Summers told ABC Radio Perth.
This wasn't just a holiday for us, it was a mental health break as much as a holiday. Knowing that would no longer be possible was a blow to the family who decided to book a couple of nights at a hotel in Perth to give themselves a little break.
She said that it was not the warm weather and just to get away from the house to try to get a bit of a holiday feel.
Aaron Trousselot got stuck in Melbourne trying to reach his 13-year-old son, who had travelled before him to reach a baseball tournament on the Gold Coast.
He said the next available Jetstar flight would have been more than a week later, far too late to attend the tournament.
"I had to go and buy another ticket for my wife and my three other children at $7,000 one-way," Trousselot said.
Consumer Protection Western Australia has issued an alert, telling passengers that they are entitled to a refund if the replacement flight is not acceptable. Consumer Protection Commissioner Gary Newcombe said the law dictated that airlines must provide travel services within a reasonable time.
The length of the delay, the reason for the cancellation delay or the airline's ability to organise another flight within a reasonable time will be a factor in the consumer's guarantees, according to Newcombe.
The airline's obligations may not apply if the reasons are outside their control, such as weather conditions and other factors. Travellers can lodge a complaint with Consumer Protection if the airline is only offering a flight credit and not a refund.
The organisation suggested that customers purchase travel insurance that protects them from these kinds of cancellations, adding that it was specific to recent cancellations and may not apply in other situations, such as issues related to COVID - 19.