WATCH | Hundreds stranded at East London airport as flight chaos continues

When the Dispatch arrived at dusk, East London's King Phalo Airport was at a standstill, with no flights departing or arriving.

Long queues formed outside the FlySafair offices as passengers inquired about refunds and alternative routes.

A nearby FlySafair employee informed passengers that buses had been organised to transport them to Gqeberha.

“They're first-come, first-served,” she said.

Outside, five buses from Two Tours waited near the departures entrance.

Hundreds of passengers boarded them to catch flights at the Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport.

Though many passengers found alternative transportation, numerous others remained stranded.

A passenger, who wished to remain anonymous, considered booking a hotel for another day.

Airport Shuttle driver Jingles Gxoyiya reported an extremely slow day.

“Usually, I make about R850 per day,” he said.

“Today, I didn't even make R200. This is the slowest day I've experienced in over two years of working here.”

Flights leaving the airport have been delayed since Wednesday due to “infrastructural issues”,  preventing planes from landing or taking off.

Airlines have apologised to customers left stranded by the grounding of flights to and from East London's King Phalo Airport after the South African Civil Aviation Authority suspended all airport landings and take-offs.

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