Malaysia Airlines has apologised to its passengers after leaving them starving after their flight was delayed twice in two days.

Flight MH145 from Kuala Lumpur to Auckland was cancelled about 8.45pm on New Year's Day after passengers sat in the plane on the tarmac for hours.

Once they were finally let off, a longer wait ensued as accommodation was being sorted.

Hungry and frustrated at the turn of events, the airline distributed off-brand Oreos, a 'gross' croissant, a crispy treat, two crackers and a little cup of water for dinner, the NZ Herald reported.

Hungry and frustrated at the turn of events, the airline distributed knock-off Oreos (pictured), a 'gross' croissant, a crispy treat, two crackers and a little cup of water for dinner

The Malaysia Airlines flight was delayed twice leaving passengers fuming (stock image)

Nimi Kaur and her 13-year-old daughter were on the flight at the time and said her hotel was booked an hour away from the hotel.

They booked in at 3.15am and were given a wake up call two hours later at 5am.

Upon arriving at the airport, the pair were given a breakfast voucher which was only valid for a muffin and a black coffee from a cafe near the gate, leaving Ms Kaur to pay for milk.

Malaysia Airlines acknowledged the meals were 'too light' and apologised for not providing more time for the food vouchers.

'It has also been noted that due to the short duration of time between the flight departures on January 2, we were only able to provide snacks which proved to be rather too light considering most passengers did not have ample time to use the vouchers given for breakfast,' the airline said in a statement.

As passengers boarded the plane, which was the same plane that was cancelled, the flight was once again aborted.

Furious customers demanded a new flight saying they didn't want to be 'crash test dummies'.

'I was in utter shock and disbelief. The exact same issue that was meant to have been fixed was not and the lives of all passengers and crew on board were risked,' Sirjit Singh told the publication.

As they waited, economy passengers were given another snack meal and weren't allowed off the flight to grab their own food.

'Gross' croissants (pictured) were also handed out to the passengers as they waited for take-off

'We were completely ravenous. Honestly, we were starving. We would have been happy to pay for the food ourselves, but we couldn't leave,' Ms Kaur said.

'It almost feels like you're in prison - you can't eat, you can't leave that area and you're all hungry. And there were people with little kids there as well.'

A Malaysia Airlines spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that an investigation was launched into the incident and apologised to its customers for the inconvenience.

'Malaysia Airlines regrets the shortcomings in its service recovery after flight MH145 on 1 January 2020 encountered technical difficulties,' they said.

'...due to the short duration of time between the flight departures on 2 January, we were only able to provide snacks which proved to be rather too light considering most passengers did not have ample time to use the vouchers given for breakfast.

'We wish to thank passengers who have provided us feedback, as we endeavour to continuously improve the quality of our services.

'Malaysia Airlines once again apologises to its guests for all the inconvenience experienced and disruption to their travel plans.'