Airplane Passengers Stranded in Turkey for Over 40 Hours Say Conditions Were ‘Inhumane’

2 weeks ago 4

More than 250 passengers aboard a Virgin Atlantic flight from London to Mumbai found themselves stranded for more than 40 hours at a military airport in Turkey after their plane was forced to make an emergency landing this week.

Frustrated travelers took to social media to call attention to the difficult conditions they faced while awaiting further assistance from the airline. Passengers have criticized the airline for leaving them in "inhumane" and "awful" conditions for two days at an airport with minimal facilities, insufficient food and a lack of essential supplies.

Virgin Atlantic flight VS358 departed from London Heathrow at 11:40 a.m. BST on April 2 and was set to arrive in Mumbai at 8:10 p.m. BST. However, due to a medical emergency onboard, the aircraft was forced to make an unscheduled landing at Diyarbakır Airport in Turkey around 5:00 p.m. BST.

Following the emergency landing, technical issues arose with the aircraft after it made what was described as a "hard landing" and was subsequently declared unfit to continue its journey.

“The VS358 flight from London Heathrow to Mumbai on 2nd April was canceled due to an urgent medical diversion to Diyarbakir airport in Turkey and subsequent technical inspections required," Virgin Atlantic told The Independent. “The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority and we apologize for the inconvenience caused.”

The airline stated that the flight was scheduled to continue its onward journey at 10am BST on Friday, but stranded travelers said they weren’t provided any information about when their flight to India might resume.

Passengers took to social media to bemoan the deplorable conditions in which they were stuck waiting without word. They reported being confined to a restricted area of the military airport that lacked of adequate food, water and essential supplies like blankets and pillows, with only one toilet available for hundreds of people.

“My family along with 250+ passengers have been inhumanely treated by @virginatlantic,” a passenger named Hanuman Dass said on X. “It's now been 30 hours since @VirginAtlantic flight left London and we are appalled at the lack of humanity and treatment of #Indian and #British citizens. My wife and kids have one pillow between 3 people and no blankets and have been sat in a confined space with 300 people.”

Mumbai politician Preeti Sharma Menon, who was among the stranded travelers, highlighted the presence of vulnerable individuals within their ranks. "It’s been 24 hours and not a single airline representative has met the passengers,” she said. “They have barely any food, one toilet amongst 275 pax, phones running out of batteries as they don’t have Turkish adapters. There are babies, pregnant women, diabetics and old people in this ordeal.”

On Thursday night, Menon reported that passengers were finally being moved to a hotel for temporary accommodations. Virgin Atlantic later stated, “The majority of our customers were provided with overnight hotel accommodation ahead of their onward journey today. We’d like to sincerely apologize for the delay and any inconvenience caused.”

The Indian embassy in Turkey stated that it was coordinating with Virgin Atlantic, the Diyarbakır airport authorities and the Turkish foreign ministry. "Through the mission’s coordination, appropriate care is being extended to the passengers,” the embassy wrote on X. “We are in discussion with the related authorities for the early resolution of the issue and the arrangement of an alternate flight to Mumbai for the stranded passengers."

After an extended delay, the airline confirmed that the flight would continue its journey on Friday. “With the necessary technical approvals now in place, we will continue flight VS1358 from Diyarbakır Airport at approximately 12:00 local time on Friday 4th April, arriving in Mumbai at approximately 20:30 local,” it said.

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