BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

PASSENGERS on board Royal Brunei Airlines (RB) flight BI424 on bound for Brunei from Singapore Sunday evening had to stay the night in the city-state due to "technical requirements".

A press statement from RB said: "After detecting a technical issue with the aircraft, RB made a decision to delay the flight to ensure the aircraft meets our regular standards prior to the flight.''

The flight arrived safely in Brunei yesterday at 9.40am.

Several passengers on board the flight, scheduled for take off after 9pm, said after being notified of the delay, RB should have offered food and beverage to compensate for the holdup.

She said she, along with the other passenger who opted for anonymity, were expecting to have their meal on the plane which was supposed to take off after 9pm.

"We were at the departure gate since 8pm until 12 midnight but we were not given any water or food,'' said a passenger.

RB said their first and foremost priority was passenger safety, and the airline apologises to all passengers of the affected flight for the inconvenience caused.

The Brunei Times