‘Unable to find a direct flight, London-based family opted for Air India flight from Ahmedabad'

Indian Express

11 hours ago

It was meant to be a fun-filled homecoming for Eid. Instead, it ended in heartbreak for the Syed family. Javed Ali Syed, a UK-based hotel manager originally from Malad in Mumbai, had flown down with his wife Mariam and their two young children, four-year-old Zayn and six-year-old Amani, at the beginning of the month to celebrate Eid al-Adha with family and to be by his ailing mother's side.
With no direct flight tickets available from Mumbai for their return journey to London, the family opted for a flight from Ahmedabad. That detour, however, proved fatal. Air India flight AI 171 they had boarded crashed shortly after takeoff two days ago, killing Javed, Mariam, and their two children, two of the youngest victims of the tragedy.
Javed, a former resident of Malad, had moved to the UK a decade ago and subsequently gained citizenship. He worked as a manager at the Best Western Kensington Olympia Hotel in London and had married Mariam, whom he met in the UK.
'He hadn't been here in years. Our mother had a heart attack recently and Eid was near, so he wanted to be here for both,' said Imtiyaz Ali Syed, Javed's brother.
The family stayed in Malad for several days before travelling to Ahmedabad earlier this week to catch their return flight. 'We are devastated,' said Imtiyaz, who has travelled to Ahmedabad along with another family member to assist in the identification process and submit DNA samples. The bodies of the family have not yet been located. 'We wish they had taken a flight from Mumbai. Perhaps this would not have occurred,' Imtiyaz said.