Air India Passengers Endure Nine-Hour Tarmac Wait

Oct. 17, 2011 - PRLog -- AN Air India flight from Mumbai was forced to sit on the tarmac at London's Gatwick airport for nine hours and its passengers told they could not depart until the plane made a 40-kilometre hop to nearby Heathrow. The flight, scheduled to land at Heathrow, was diverted to Gatwick due to fog, but rather than allowing the 200 passengers to leave the plane there, officials insisted they wait until it was possible for the flight to continue to its original destination.

When the fog lifted, the plane remained grounded because its crewmembers had already worked their maximum allowable shift.

A replacement crew was sent from Heathrow and the plane eventually landed at Heathrow about 5:30pm local time - some nine-and-a-half hours after it had first touched down, the UK's Times reported. Passenger Mark Shorey said “he did not understand the need to fly the final leg to Heathrow”.

"I'm angry at just being in the dark and we still are. I don't really understand what happened today," he said. "I don't understand why we were diverted then not allowed to leave. I felt I was already home, I was in London, I didn't mind the extra hassle of coming from Gatwick into London."

Rahul Joglekar, a BBC journalist who was on the flight, said people had become "very, very angry" as they received little information from the crew during the long wait. Speaking shortly before the aircraft took off for Heathrow, he said, "Tempers are running high as you would expect. [We've had] a few bottles of juice and water [but] we haven't received a meal since we've been stranded at the airport.

"Passengers have been asking the crew members, 'Why don't you let us deplane because we are at Gatwick already?' One of the passengers became really desperate and picked up his bag and walked down the plane. The crew advised us that would technically be illegal and then the police had to bring him back into the plane."

Joglekar said there had been few announcements from the crew during their prolonged wait and that a pregnant woman and small children were on board. "A group of passengers gathered close to the cockpit demanding an explanation from the pilot, but the pilots still don't come out," he said. Sussex Police sent officers to board the aircraft. They found that passengers were in need of refreshment but were "positive about their plight".

At least one passenger indicated she would seek compensation for the ordeal. A spokesman for Gatwick said it had been the airline's decision to keep the passengers on board rather than finding alternative transport to Heathrow.

"The plane remained off the runway and kept in the vicinity of the tarmac. The duty of care in those situations lies with the airline," he said.
Source: News.com (http://www.airindiadomestic.co.in)

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