RIYADH, 11 December 2007 — With the AI-820 flight bound for Hyderabad delayed by eight hours, some 300 passengers stranded at the King Khaled International Airport expressed their frustration with the AI management for leaving them in the lurch.
The flight was to leave for Hyderabad via Bombay at 6.30 pm. However, when they checked in at the airport four hours before the departure time, they were informed that the expected time for the flight to take off would be 2.40 a.m.
“There is utter chaos at the airport. Passengers are falling with their trolleys as they are being pushed around by the police,” Dr. Abid Moiz of the Ministry of Health and one of the stranded passengers told Arab News from the airport. He said the AI ground crew was unhelpful and asking the passengers to contact the Ministry of Civil Aviation for the reasons behind the delay.
However, Ratan Ghosh, Air-India’s regional manager, told Arab News that the delay was due to a technical snag and that the passengers were being taken care of. He cut the line before any further questions could be asked.
Passengers contacted at the airport said Air-India might be looking after only their first and business class passengers.
“I came from Madinah last night. I am completely exhausted waiting at the airport. What prevented the AI management from informing us about the delay in the departure when they note down our mobile phone numbers at the time of booking?” asked an irate passenger, who was scheduled to take a connecting flight from Bombay to Bangalore and travel by bus to Hassan district, some 300 km from that city. He said his family members were also stranded at the Bangalore airport.
Khaled Askar and M.M. Qureshi, Hyderabad-bound passengers, said many of them also include families with children. “The ground crew is not listening to us, while the station manager is also not cooperating.”
With the 2.40 a.m. departure now a matter of conjecture, passengers said the AI ground crew was also not accepting the luggage.
Together with the snowballing passenger rush, the situation had reached a point where the airport police were pushing the passengers back causing them to stumble and fall over their loaded trolleys, they said.
