BENGALURU: Around 2 am on Wednesday, passengers of a GoAir flight from Singapore finally landed in Bengaluru, nearly 43 hours behind the originally scheduled arrival time. The whole journey was an ordeal for the passengers as there was a scare mid-air -- second time since Monday - after the plane took off from Changi Airport after a massive delay.
Among those who reached Bengaluru were natives of Hubballi -- D Deepa with her two sons, Akthar (9) and Arya (5), a special child. The family, living in Singapore for the last four years, never imagined such a horrendous start to their vacation in their hometown.
Flight G8 28, equipped with the controversial A320 Neo engine, reverted to Singapore 33 minutes after it began its journey on Monday due to technical issues in the mid-air even as passengers complained of a strong smell of smoke inside.
It was a long wait at hotels and the airport for many since then. After repeatedly giving new departure schedules, the flight finally took to the skies at 9 pm (Singapore time) on Tuesday with a new engine. Only half the originally planned 158 passengers were on board though. But their relief was short-lived.
Deepa told The New Indian Express that 10 minutes after the flight took off, she got a strong smell of smoke, even stronger than the first time and others on board also started speaking about it. “The atmosphere changed and there was panic and anxiety as it was the second time for us”, she added.
GoAir technician on board inspected different parts of the plane and declared it safe, Deepa told TNIE. They were assured that the smoke happened only because a new engine had been installed and there was nothing to worry about, she said. The smell subsided shortly and there was no problem for the rest of the journey, the passenger added.
Recounting the first scare on Monday, her husband Prasanna who works in Singapore said it was a pure horror for him. “After seeing off my family, I was checking the flight location on a flight tracking website. To my horror, I saw the flight suddenly take a U-turn and kept racing down many hundreds of feet. I knew something was totally wrong and kept calling everyone I knew in total panic,” he told TNIE from Singapore.
Deepa said, “There were many elderly people, a few in wheel chairs as well as families with kids. The extra care they require was totally lacking. Though bookings on alternative flights were made by the airline for those who wanted them and hotel stay was provided, it was a suffering all of us underwent due to lack of information.”
The family also lost some money as they missed their connecting SpiceJet flight to Hubballi and her relative drove all the way from there to pick them all up.Asked for details, a GoAir spokesperson said, “Findings are subject to investigation.”