Airline Strands Revelers … In Bali

Strangely enough, though, we haven’t heard a whisper of complaint from a planeload of New Year’s revelers who were stranded in Bali for three days. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Skywest flight left Port Hedland on New Year’s Eve and was supposed to return later that night. But a faulty warning light grounded the unidentified aircraft and distance (and likely the holidays) complicated what should have been a simple repair. The passengers were finally flown back to Perth by another airline on Jan. 3. Skywest spokesman Paul Plowman said it was an “unfortunate incident” that, under other circumstances, would have been quickly resolved. “It occurred overseas where we did require the expertise of an Australian licensed engineer plus an original part to try and fix the aircraft but ordinarily if it had occurred here it would have been a problem which could have been solved a lot quicker.”