BENGALURU: A weekend trip between Bengaluru and Goa in both directions turned into a nightmare for flyers after the abrupt cancellation of a 70-seater Alliance Air plane from the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) just before takeoff on Saturday night (Aug 17). Passengers were made to de-board the flight and they had to return home as all flights were full because of the extended weekend. A bigger nightmare awaited those in the return leg from Goa to Bengaluru as they had to spend 12 hours at the Dabolim International Airport without any support from the airline before they flew to KIA the next morning, alleged passengers.
Flight 91 547, an ATR 72-600 make, departs from KIA’s Terminal 1 to Goa at 7.05 pm and reaches there at 8.40 pm. In the return direction, 91 548 departs at 9.05 pm and reaches KIA at 10.40 pm.
An airline official told TNIE, “There was a completely unexpected issue on August 17. Due to a technical problem the aircraft encountered when it was on the taxiway in Bengaluru before takeoff, it was forced to return to the taxi bay. There were 65 passengers on board. The Alliance Air flight the next day was booked fully too and our next flight is only on Wednesday. So, we decided to reimburse the fare to the passengers.”
The return flight too had to be cancelled from the Goa end. “We had kept the passengers informed that there was only a 50 percent chance of the flight,” the official claimed.
Flyers coming to Bengaluru from Goa spoke to TNIE about the terrible time they had inside the Dabolim airport from Saturday night till Sunday morning. Aryan Ghosh, a resident of Hebbal, who spent Rs 18,000 for a ticket on an Indigo flight from Goa to Bengaluru the following morning at 9 am, said, “My fare on the Alliance Air flight was just Rs 4,000. The flight was to take off at 9.05 pm and we were alerted in the morning that it would take off only by 10.05 pm. Later at night, after the security checks were done and the boarding pass issued to us at 9.35 pm, there was no sign of us being taken via the boarding gate to the aircraft. The airline staff repeatedly told us to wait for 15 minutes. Finally, by 11.30 pm, we were told the flight had been cancelled.”
Ghosh alleged, “We were neither provided refreshments nor accommodation. The staff kept citing company policy for everything.”
Pawan Kumar, a marketing professional in Bengaluru, said,”It was a terrible situation at Goa airport on Saturday night. I reached at 8 pm. There were many women and children too. The airline staff said they had only one flight and could not put us on any alternative flight. They did not even offer us water and we were left to fend for ourselves. The airline manager abruptly cut our call saying something about company policy when we sought help.”
Since it was a long weekend, every mode of transport was full, he added. “I finally paid Rs 18,900 for an Indigo flight and returned to Bengaluru the next morning. The ticket cost on the same flight was shooting up and even touched Rs 25,000.” Some passengers decided not to fly and left the airport late at night.