ROYAL Brunei Airlines (RBA) resumed flights to London through Dubai at 8pm yesterday for the first time since volcanic ash plumes from Iceland had disrupted flights to London.
There were 305 stranded passengers in the country prior to the resumption of London and Dubai flights from the Sultanate.
RBA Chief Executive Officer Robert Yang yesterday said the airline would soon decide on their second and third flights to London.
“We are not going to rush into this, especially with safety and customers in mind. From here to London and a stop-over in Dubai, we won’t arrive until 17 hours later. Anything can happen in 17 hours,” he said.
Some of Royal Brunei Airlines' stranded passengers getting through immigration check at Brunei International Airport following the resumption of London flights yesterday. Picture: BT/Jefrisalas
It took time for the flag carrier to decide on its first flight out of Brunei, he said, adding he was thankful it didn’t take that long.
“Each airline has taken a decision on how to react and RBA has taken the decision that is best for our customers. The situation has improved since early morning (yesterday) so we can resume our flights,” he said.
Asked how RBA was going to clear its backlog of passengers, Yang admitted that it would not be easy.
“As you all know, all airlines have stopped operations for a while. They’ve stopped since Thursday and today is Wednesday. The priority should be given to passengers stranded in Dubai and Brunei. We will move them out as quickly as possible and then we will prioritise in terms of the rest,” he said. RBA had about 22 passengers stranded in Dubai.
He recalled seeing news reports saying some airlines, depending on their operations and network, may not be able to accept bookings until May 1 or 2.
“That’s the extent of the problem. For us, I would say prudently that it will be sometime in the first week or May or earlier. There is a priority system that we go through otherwise there’ll be mayhem,” he said.
As for RBA passengers in the United Kingdom, Yang said that they are not stranded at all as they have been told in advance not to go to the airport.
“So it’s how swift you react to the situation and I give my credit to the RBA staff, as they have reacted fast. If you don’t react fast you can imagine you will get 150 to 180 people a day and close to 1,000 in a week there,” he said.
It is harder for countries further from Europe, as risks are higher because the volcano can be temperamental and anything could happen in between but RBA is “monitoring the situation every hour and working closely with the Department of Civil Aviation for weather forecasts”.
Asked how much the delays have costed the national carrier, Yang said: “With the initial decision to put passengers in hotels in and out of Brunei, we never looked at the cost.”
The first thing the airline looks at is helping customers, he said.”As the situation develops, we will take a look at the action taken and how much it is costing the airline, but the amount is not significant in relation to meeting the expectation of customers. Especially in RBA’s way of doing business,” he said.
The three things he highlighted as RBA’s mission is to run a safe operation, look after customers and staff while maintaining a viable operation.
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