3 days ago
13 flyers left without seats at Bhuj, see red
Rajkot: Tempers flared at Bhuj airport on Saturday morning when 13 passengers were not allowed to board an Air India flight to Mumbai. The passengers, many of whom had travelled from remote parts of Kutch with luggage, were suddenly left stranded.
According to sources at the airport, the Air India flight was to leave for Mumbai at 8.55am. During the boarding process, several passengers were made to wait while others were allowed to board. Confusion grew when the airline workers disappeared from the counter.
By 8.15am, the frustrated passengers began questioning why they weren't given their boarding passes. Airport security tried to manage the situation and as the passengers grew angrier, they called in the airline staff.
The airline staff initially told the passengers that they had been late. The arguments continued as many asserted that they had arrived on time.
In-charge airport director Anurag Vaishnav said, "Air India officials will be able to explain what happened. What I do know is that they made alternative travel arrangements for the affected passengers."
Meet Thakkar, one of the affected passengers, said he arrived at the airport with his wife, two-year-old son, brother, and sister-in-law.
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"We all reached together. My brother and sister-in-law had done their web check-in and were allowed to board. I was refused a boarding pass at the airport counter. The staff later admitted that the aircraft that had arrived from Mumbai was smaller and had fewer seats than the number of tickets booked," he told TOI.
Thakkar said the airline offered a car to Ahmedabad and and an evening flight to Mumbai, but he declined the offer due to time constraints.
"I needed to reach Mumbai today. I spent my own money to book a flight from Kandla and made it on time," he said.
Many of the other passengers missed connecting flights from Mumbai and lashed out at the airline for mismanagement and poor communication.
An Air India spokesperson told TOI: "The aircraft scheduled to operate AI609 from Bhuj to Mumbai on Saturday was downgraded from an A321 to A320 due to operational reasons. A few passengers could thus not board the flight. Our team at Bhuj arranged alternatives for the affected passengers, including rebooking them on other flights to their destinations according to individual preferences. We regret the inconvenience caused to the affected passengers and thank them for their understanding.
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