Offloaded Gulf passenger sheds tears on tarmac

Mumbai: If you are not Renuka Chowdhury and if you happen to be boarding a low-cost airline to a ‘labour class' destination like some place in the Middle-East, make sure you reach the departure gate well before time.
A heart-wrenching scene played out on the tarmac of Mumbai airport on Saturday morning, where an offloaded passenger was seen crying with folded hands, pleading in vain to the commander seated in the cockpit, who refused to take him onboard.
The matter pertains to Air India Express Mumbai-Doha-Bahrain flight IX 243 which was to depart at 8.45 am. "Ten minutes before departure, a passenger by the name, P Miranda, who had checked in was not traceable and so the commander was informed about it. But at that very moment the passenger walked in and he was allowed to board the flight. When the commander learnt about it, he told the inflight supervisor to offload the passenger saying he was too late in boarding the flight," said a source.
Since the commander has the last say in his aircraft, the passenger was asked to deplane. What happened next was unexpected.
"The passenger did not throw a tantrum or got violent. Instead he started crying and when he got down the step-ladder, he went to the area below the cockpit and started begging with the commander. As his checked-in bag was being traced and removed from the aircraft belly, he stood there with folded hands, crying looking up towards the cockpit. But Capt Kapoor did not budge. He took off without the passenger," said the source.
" ..it could have to do with the strict service conditions in the Middle-East, wherein he stands to lose his job if he fails to report on a particular day. Or maybe, his visa was to expire. Whatever the reason be, I have never seen someone cry and plead like this," the source added.
31/03/08 Manju V/Times of India

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