Passengers protest rescheduling of Singapore flight

Passengers of the Air Inida (AI) 632 flight protested at the Kolkata airport against the cancellation of the Singapore-bound flight that originated in Dhaka. The flight was supposed to take off at 3.30 am on Saturday. Passengers boarded the aircraft at 3.10 am and at 4.35 am,they were asked to de-board when a technical snag was detected. “We have been made to wait at the lounge since then without any food or toilet facilities,” alleged one of the passengers.

Airport authorities,however,said passengers were provided with everything necessary. “We give utmost priority to passenger security and couldn’t take a chances till experts gave us a go-ahead. The flight has been re-scheduled at 3.30 am tomorrow and we have ensured that all the 130 passengers have been taken care of,” said an Air India spokesperson.

He added that Kolkata residents had been offered a to-and-fro taxi fare to return to their residences. Indian citizens were given hotel accommodation and for foreigners,proper arrangement for accommodation and food was been made at the airport. “It is a situation beyond our control. Men and material had to be brought in from Mumbai and before the snag could be addressed,the cockpit crew left following flight duty time limitation (FDTL),” he added.