'Unless I'm lucky, this is going to kill me' - Elderly couple's 17-hour airport ordeal

John Salter waited 17 hours to fly home after his Qantas flight was cancelled at the last minute, and was too afraid to fall asleep in case he fell off the chair and hit his head. Photo / Alan Gibson

An 81-year-old man and his elderly wife were stranded for 17 hours at Melbourne airport after their Qantas flight was cancelled at the last minute.

John Salter and his wife Bethany spent all night sitting upright in hard airport chairs.

He was wary to fall asleep in case he fell off the chair and hit his head, he said.

"I didn't sleep at all," Salter said.

"I remember looking at my watch at 3am and thinking, 'Unless I'm lucky, this is going to kill me'."

The planeload of passengers on QF155 were told at the last minute that their flight to Auckland was cancelled and they would fly the next morning.

Qantas passengers were told the cancellation was due to the flight time to Auckland being an hour over the limit of what the pilots could fly, Salter said.

A pregnant woman was among the passengers stranded last-minute on November 21.

Friends of the Salters were unable to find any accommodation available for the pair, as the city was flooded with more than 45,000 people attending the Jehovah's Witness international convention.

So, they camped out at the airport for the evening.

The Tauranga retiree said the airline offered "no apology, no blankets and no cushions" to those stuck at Melbourne Airport.

"At no stage did they apologise, there was no offer of moving into a lounge or a comfortable area," Salter said.

"It was the rudest situation I've ever been in, I was absolutely astounded.

"I'm 81 and I wasn't the oldest person on this flight."

He spotted one elderly woman who managed to get a couple of hours' sleep by pushing two chairs together.

"It was just enough for her to curl up. But she woke up with a stiff neck.''

John Salter and his wife faced a 17-hour ordeal at Melbourne airport after their flight was cancelled last minute. Photo / Alan Gibson

The couple were given food vouchers to use at the airport. But by that time, only one outlet was open to spend the $15 voucher on.

A $45 food voucher for each of the Salters was spent on breakfast the next morning, before they checked in for their flight home at 6am.

Scheduled to leave at 9am, the flight was further delayed, finally arriving in Auckland at 2.35pm.

But once they reached the City of Sails, they faced a lengthy ride back to their home in Tauranga.

Salter said the "disgusting" experience tainted a wonderful Australian holiday and put him off the airline forever.

He said his wife has contacted the airline about the ordeal, but is still waiting for a response.

"All we really want is a written apology from the managing director of Qantas."

A Qantas spokesperson said their team apologised to passengers for the delay and advised them they would be reimbursed for accommodation for the night.

"We understand that delays and cancellations are frustrating, but the cabin crew on this flight reported being fatigued and as there were a number of other weather-related disruptions that day there was no replacement crew available."