Passengers complained that they received no help or food
New Delhi:
Indian passengers flying from Mumbai to Manchester and stuck at Kuwait airport for 13 hours have complained of serious problems, including not receiving “food or aid”. Their ordeal began after their flight made an emergency landing following an engine fire incident.
A chaotic video showing Gulf Air passengers arguing with airport authorities has emerged on social media.
A tweet claimed that the passengers were being harassed and that the airline would only accommodate fliers from the European Union, the United Kingdom and the US.
Passengers said their flight made a U-turn before landing in Kuwait. They said the flight diversion announcement came 20 minutes before landing.
Gulf Air has not yet made a statement on this matter.
Arzoo Singh, a passenger, told NDTV that they at least asked for lounge access, but the airport authorities did not get back to them.
“It's been more than 13 hours. There are about 60 passengers. We asked for lounge access if possible, but they haven't responded. They've been telling us since the morning, every three hours, that we were going home go.” Ms Singh told NDTV, surrounded by passengers who have been in the terminal for more than half a day.
'We all have work tomorrow, people are waiting in Britain. We tried to reach the embassy,” she said.
The flight was heading from Bahrain to Manchester after arriving from Mumbai and took almost two hours when everyone was suddenly told to prepare for an emergency landing, the passenger said.
“I saw the engine was on fire. There was smoke. After landing, we asked them so many times to at least give us a seat. Everyone was sitting on the ground,” Ms Singh said.