KOTA KINABALU: A wedding party and umrah prospective pilgrims were among thousands of passengers stranded at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), here, following the cancellation of flights involving Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Sabah and Sarawak today.
Rusnih Majid, 65, from Kampung Luagan Sanginan, Beaufort, along with 16 family members including the groom's mother, were scheduled to leave for Kuching on the 12.30 pm Firefly flight, but it was cancelled today and rescheduled.
She said they had left Beaufort as early as 6 am, and only found out about the rescheduling of the flight when they arrived at KKIA at about 9 am.
"It's disappointing because we came from far away (Beaufort), the family from Labuan is also here with us, we are going to attend my sister's son's wedding," she said when met by Bernama here today.
Rusnih, however, hopes that the situation will improve and that the family will be able to attend her nephew's wedding ceremony which will take place this Saturday.
Meanwhile, Raudah Borneo Travel and Services Sdn Bhd Syariah adviser, Datuk Saifulzaman Sangul, said that the agency's 66 prospective umrah pilgrims were also stranded.
He hoped that all pilgrims would be patient, and pray that the situation will improve and flight operations will go back to normal.
"For those who are going to perform umrah, we hope that their flight will reach the Holy Land safely, and (they can) fulfil their umrah obligations," he said.
Prospective umrah pilgrims, Nuraini Robert, 54, and her daughter, Najwa Musain Musli, 28, from Kampung Paal, Tenom, said that their flight through the umrah agency, scheduled for 12.05 pm to Singapore, was postponed.
She said that she only found out about the flight situation when they were at KKIA, after being informed by the umrah agency earlier that they were expected to arrive in Jeddah tomorrow.
"I arrived in Kota Kinabalu yesterday, and when a situation like this happens, we just have to accept it, pray that the situation will get better and that we will reach our destination safely," she said.
Several Malaysia Airlines and Air Asia flights connecting Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Sabah, and Sarawak, were cancelled today, following the volcanic eruption at Gunung Ruang, Indonesia.
Malaysia Airlines has so far announced that 19 flights have been cancelled, of which 11 flights involve Sabah, while the other eight involve Sarawak.
Air Asia said 16 of its flights connecting KLIA with Sabah destinations were cancelled, eight involving Kota Kinabalu and another eight involving Tawau. -- Bernama