I WAS very interested to read the comments of people who had travelled on the Virgin Atlantic flight to London, which had to make an extra stop-over in Abu Dhabi to refuel (South China Morning Post, March 29). Why were people getting so irate about the stop? Would they rather have run out of fuel at 30,000 feet? I don't understand the mentality of these people. They obviously blame Richard Branson for the war in Afghanistan which is understandably having to be avoided by air traffic. Maybe it is Branson's fault also that there are very strong headwinds on the Hong Kong-London route at present. It is not just Virgin Atlantic which has been forced to make an extra stop. Cathay Pacific's ''non stop'' flights have been stopping in Rome and British Airways flights have also had to stop. These Virgin passengers are too busy complaining that they forget to stop and think that perhaps it's all being done for their own safety. As for the extended stop-over time in Abu Dhabi; any passenger who believes that a plane can land, refuel and be airborne again in 40 minutes needs to open their eyes wider and travel more often! Surely people would rather wait an extra hour and have thejob done properly than have a rushed job and risk an accident? I was disgusted to read that passengers were refusing to sit down, and arguing with the crew. What good does that do? Do they really think the cabin crew want to be delayed any more than they do? It's passengers like that airlines can do without. As a seasoned traveller myself, I know how annoying, frustrating and tiring it is to be delayed for hours, have extra stop-overs, be diverted to another airport when you finally reach your country of destination and then have to wait to get off the plane. I've been through it all. But there's no point in blaming anyone; especially the airline itself. All delays have a reason behind them (although it's sometimes hard to believe!) and most of the time, they are for our safety. So give all the other airlinesand Virgin Atlantic a break. Virgin is a super airline and its number one priority is our safety. Thank goodness for that! As for the Hong Kong businessman who said, ''I'm going back on Virgin, unfortunately, after what I've gone through, I don't want to,'' if I said that every time I'd had a delay with a flight, I wouldn't have an airline to travel on anymore. I think it's pretty amazing you were only 61/2 hours late. EMILIE CARTER Mid-Levels