Wait for Lankans delays Hyderabad flight
According to irate passengers who boarded Jet Airways flight 9W 2780 at 9 am, the cabin staff remained absolutely unresponsive for the entire time that they remained inside the small ATR aircraft.
“The plane was supposed to leave at 9 am and reach Hyderabad at 10.40 am. As the Indira Gandhi Airport is well outside Hyderabad city, people usually need 1-2 hours to reach their places of work or even homes,” said Prakasam K (name changed), a frequent flyer who was travelling on business.
He continued, “We boarded the flight - about 30 of us - and normally the plane leaves in 10 -15 minutes. But once the clock ticked past 9.40 am, we began to get a little worried that the plane hadn’t left yet,” he added.
The passengers said that they were shocked when the plane hadn’t left even past 10 am and none of the cabin crew went beyond politely apologising for the delay.
“One of the co-passengers called a GM in the airline and complained that they hadn’t left and weren’t giving a reason. He called us back and said that the flight was being held back for 18 passengers from Sri Lanka, whose flight from Colombo had been delayed,” he said.
What could have turned into a passenger uprising inside the plane ended up as comic relief when the passenger told a flight attendant that the ‘GM’ wished to have a word, but she apparently replied that she wasn’t authorized to speak with him, said another passenger.
Though a confirmation from the airline was pending, airport sources indicated that the Lankans must have been booked on Jet Airways flight 9W 253 which ought to have landed at Chennai by 7 am, but only made it in by 8.52 am.
“Given how much smuggling is happening, Customs and Immigration are taking their time with transit passengers, which is why they must have been delayed,” said an airport source.
Eventually, six of the 18 arrived (preceded by their luggage) and the plane took off from Chennai and arrived in Hyderabad a little before noon. (Source: Indian Express)
Category: Local
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