Jetstar has apologised after hundreds of passengers were kept in their seats on the tarmac for more than seven hours. 

The flight from Bangkok to Melbourne was carrying 320 passengers when it was diverted to Alice Springs on Saturday after a someone suffered a suspected stroke onboard.

An electrical fault then prolonged the delays, meaning a second plane had to be flown in.

Customers were told they couldn’t leave the plane when it landed in the Northern Territory because Alice Springs isn’t an international airport and couldn’t process them properly.

While passengers have since landed in Melbourne, they’ve had to wait until today for their luggage to arrive because it was not transferred to the replacement plane.

Jetstar apologised to passengers for the “difficult experience” but said it had to be conscious of safety.

The company has flagged it will consider refunds on a case-by-case basis.

Read Jetstar’s full statement on Flight JQ30 below 

“Safety is always our first priority. We thank passengers for their understanding and apologise to them for the impact to their journey when we had to divert to Alice Springs to support a passenger requiring urgent medical assistance after they experienced a suspected stroke on board. Upon arrival into Alice Springs the passenger was taken to hospital by ambulance.

“Being a domestic airport Alice Springs does not have customs processing facilities, and when there was a further delay as a result of an electrical fault while the aircraft was on the ground, we worked with Border Agencies, the NT Police and the local Airport Authority to give passengers the option to disembark into a specially partitioned section of the Airport. We worked with the airport to provide drinks and food.

“When the replacement aircraft arrived, passengers were transferred directly onto the replacement aircraft which landed in Melbourne just after 11pm last night.

“We appreciate this has been a lengthy delay and apologise to passengers for the difficult experience. We thank passengers for their patience and understanding as we supported the passenger requiring urgent medical assistance and worked to get everyone else on their way as quickly as possible.”