Ken Trembath was planning a 10-day trip to Bali with his wife and three daughters.
He got a text at 4 o'clock this morning telling him his flight had been cancelled, and that he should ring the customer service centre. When he rang, the person on the phone had no idea about the flight cancellations, and promised to call him back.
At 5:40am, they called him back and told him to get to Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport as soon as possible. He stood in line with his family for several hours before the airline told him he was eligible for a refund.
"This was going to be our last family trip because they're all going their own way, and it looks like we've missed out on that," he told news.com.au.
"We've got hotel costs, parking, money conversion. We just can't afford another $7000 or so dollars. Myself and my wife, we can't alter our leave."
He said customers were told it was an "operational issue" and that there was nothing the airline could do to help them out.
"According to the Tigerair people there, it's just tough luck," he said.
"I'm very angry. As far as I'm concerned Tigerair is a disgrace. I'm totally disappointed, because this was a pretty important trip for my family. We're just a normal family like anyone else, and we saved up for a year for this."
Tigerair told news.com.au it is contacting passengers affected by the cancellations.
"Tigerair Australia sincerely apologises for the inconvenience caused by today's cancellations," it said in a statement.
The airline began flying to Bali in March last year, and is believed to have been operating under a temporary arrangement with the Indonesian government.
News.com.au understands the airline was given no notice of the rule changes, and was forced to ground all flights with immediate effect.
The cancellations are in no way related to safety issues.
The website will be updated as soon as more information becomes available.
Domestic flights have not been impacted.
