Bangkok, Thailand

Panic broke out inside the Thai Airways plane after the air-conditioner malfunctioned leaving passengers with no option but to gasp for breath. 

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The passengers were stuck inside the flight for two horrific hours which they called a sweltering “sauna” plane before the authorities cancelled the flight entirely.

The incident took place on July 25 in a Boeing 777 after there was a malfunction in the air conditioning system on Thai Airways flight TG 917. The flight had to take off from London and was to land in Bangkok at 9:25 p.m., as reported by ViralPress.

Because of the malfunction, the passengers got stuck in what can be called a veritable steam room as the crew members made all efforts to solve the issue. 

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“People were stuck on the plane and couldn’t leave,” said 26-year-old Warawalan Maksaen, who is a student at the University of Exeter and was trapped along with the other passengers aboard the flight. 

“We were hot and couldn’t breathe. At least in a sauna, you can leave when you want. This was like a form of torture," she said. 

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Passenger suffers panic attack, others sweat profusely 

Meanwhile, another passenger said that the conditions inside the plane were sweltering because of which one passenger suffered a panic attack while others were sweating profusely.

Also, no food or water was provided to the passengers in those hours which made the matter worse, said Maksaen. 

Water was given to the passengers by a flight attendant after two hours and the door was opened to let fresh air in.

Because no technicians were available the passengers were asked to deplane at 11 pm (local time) after needlessly unnecessarily remaining stuck in the hot aircraft.

After the passengers were deplaned, they were given two unenviable choices. “We could either sleep in the airport until the rescheduled flight or take a bus to find a hotel,” said Maksaen. 

“Myself and a lot of the other passengers went to the bus station to wait for transportation to a hotel. There was no help from the airline, and the last group of passengers waited aimlessly until the last three buses arrived at 2 a.m.," she said.

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However, there were only eight available rooms in the hotel of the airline. Because of this Maksaen, who was travelling alone, had to find her own lodgings.

“I was so disappointed by Thai Airways. Their service was appalling, and I sent a complaint email after the incident,” Maksaen said. 

“I have received a compensation offer, either as cash or a discount voucher for my next flight, which I chose as cash because I do not want to fly with this airline again," she added. 

(With inputs from agencies)