‘Treated like prisoners': Over 250 London-Mumbai based Virgin Atlantic flyers stranded in Turkey for 40 hours

Around 270 passengers, including several Indians and British nationals, have been stranded for over 40 hours at Turkey's Diyarbakir Airport. The incident happened after a Virgin Atlantic flight from London to Mumbai was forced to make an emergency landing on April 2. It led to passengers' distress, with many claiming lack of facilities at the terminal.

What exactly happened?

Flight VS358 took off from London's Heathrow airport at 11:40 am local time on April 2 and was scheduled to land in Mumbai at 1: 40 am on April 3. However, it made an emergency landing at Diyarbakir airport around 7 pm local time after a passenger sought urgent medical attention.

‘Dry food for hours, treated like prisoners'

According to an Indian Express report, a passenger named Sumit Sheth said, “We were jolted as the plane hit the runway. There was no representative from Virgin Atlantic to guide us. The Turkish airport staff couldn’t speak English or Hindi, making communicating extremely difficult. We are stuck, confused, and helpless.” Some passengers complained of communication issues with staff, limited food for hours as they were initially given a sandwich, water bottle. They relied on dry snacks and chocolates for next 24 hours.

“We have been starving for nearly 20 hours. When the food finally arrived, it was a non-vegetarian meal where the chicken was served directly over a roti. As vegetarians, we had nothing to eat except a handful of salad,” another passenger stated. A flyer who was with his his 8-month-old infant expressed frustration stating, “We heard that the crew was given a place to rest, but no one cared about us, even the kids and the elderly. We were treated like prisoners, confined to the terminal.”

Indian embassy in Turkey reacts

“The Embassy of India, Ankara is in constant communication with Virgin Atlantic Airlines, Diyarbakir Airport Directorate, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkiye. Through the Mission’s coordination, appropriate care is being extended to the passengers. 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,” Indian embassy in Turkey posted on X.

Virgin Atlantic ‘'exploring all options’

Virgin Atlantic called it as a "hard landing", the aircraft was later declared unfit to fly due to a technical issue. The crew was sent to a hotel, passengers were put up in a restricted area within the small regional airport, with no sufficient facilities. “Our engineers are continuing their thorough assessments of the aircraft, and we are actively exploring all options including the operation of an alternative aircraft to ensure customers can reach Mumbai as soon as possible.” Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said. Later, the airline clarified that passengers were shifted to a hotel for “overnight accomodation.”