Chaos at Bengaluru airport, passengers protest after Air India Express flight fails to land in Nepal for second day

Chaos ensued at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport after passengers bound for Nepal staged a protest against Air India Express. They reportedly alleged gross mismanagement that disrupted their travel plans for two consecutive days.

According to passengers, the flight departed Bengaluru for Kathmandu at 10.30 am on Thursday. However, the aircraft returned without landing in Kathmandu under circumstances that were not clearly communicated to travellers, they alleged, according to PTI.

The same aircraft reportedly took off again on Friday morning, but once again failed to land in Kathmandu and was diverted to Lucknow.

Air Indian Express releases statement

Air India Express on Saturday announced Bengaluru-Kathmandu "recovery flight" following a string of weather-related diversions that left passengers stranded for two consecutive days.

An Air India Express spokesperson was quoted by ANI as saying on Saturday, “Due to adverse weather in Kathmandu, our Bengaluru–Kathmandu flights on 26 travellers staged a protest inside the aircraftand 27 February were diverted.”

“An additional flight operated today to recover guests from yesterday’s disrupted service was also diverted for the same reason...,” the spokesperson said.

“An additional recovery flight is planned tomorrow to accommodate these guests,” the airline added.

The airline said that affected passengers have been provided hotel accommodation and were offered the option of complimentary rescheduling or full-refund cancellation.

"We regret the inconvenience caused due to factors beyond the airline's control," the spokesperson added.

Passengers protest: ‘confined inside the aircraft for more than 30 hours’

Passengers alleged that they were made to remain seated inside the aircraft for several hours after landing in Lucknow.

"We were kept inside the plane for hours without proper information. No one clearly explained what was happening," a passenger said during their protest on Friday.

After prolonged waiting and exhaustion, travellers staged a protest inside the aircraft, forcing the airline to fly them back to Bengaluru.

Upon arrival, several passengers sat in protest near the immigration area at the airport, expressing anger over what they described as a waste of two days of their time.

Protesters claimed they were confined inside the aircraft for more than 30 hours in total and accused the airline of poor coordination and communication.

"Our entire Nepal trip has been ruined. We planned this well in advance and suffered financial losses," another passenger said.

Personnel from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) intervened and attempted to pacify the agitating passengers.

However, many continued their sit-in protest demanding accountability and compensation from the airline.

More than 40 Kannada-speaking travellers were among those on board, who said their long-planned Nepal trip was disrupted due to the airline's alleged failure to manage the situation effectively.

(With inputs from ANI, PTI)