Bristol student missed boarding Air India flight due to traffic
A student who was booked on the Air India flight to London Gatwick that crashed on Thursday missed boarding the plane by 10 minutes due to traffic.
Bhoomi Chauhan, a Bristol-based business administration student, was on holiday in western India and had booked to travel home on flight AI171.
However, the 28-year-old was turned away by airline staff after arriving at Ahmedabad airport less than an hour before the flight was due to depart.
The plane crashed into a medical college shortly after takeoff, killing 241 people onboard. A British man, Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, was the sole survivor. At least five medical students were also killed and about 50 injured, and there are fears the number of people killed on the ground could rise.
Chauhan had checked in online and was assigned the economy-class seat 36G. She arrived at the airport at 12.20pm local time, 10 minutes after boarding was scheduled to start.
She told the BBC's Gujarati service: 'We got very angry with our driver and left the airport in frustration … I was very disappointed. We left the airport and stood at a place to drink tea and after a while, before leaving … we were talking to the travel agent about how to get a refund for the ticket. There, I got a call that the plane had gone down.'
The student said it was a miracle that she had missed her flight, having been caught in traffic in Ahmedabad city centre after travelling from Ankleshwar, about 120 miles south of Ahmedabad.
She said: 'When I missed the flight, I was dejected. [The] only thing that I had in mind was if I had started a little early, I would have boarded the plane. I requested airline staff to allow me inside as I am only 10 minutes [late]. I told them that I am the last passenger and so please allow me to board the plane, but they did not allow me.'
Investigations are continuing into the cause of the crash. It was one of the worst plane crashes in terms of numbers of British nationals killed – 53 – and the first involving a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The Foreign Office said any British nationals requiring consular assistance or who had concerns about family or friends should call 020 7008 5000.
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