Etihad passengers spend 23 hours for four-hour journey

New Delhi: Some 250 passengers including children travelling by Etihad Airways from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai had to endure a six-hour wait inside the aircraft here without food or water, after a harrowing, nine-hour delay in departure from the UAE capital. The passengers, mostly Indians coming from Europe and the US, boarded the flight at 7.30 p.m. Friday in Abu Dhabi after a nine-hour delay but had to wait another six hours at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here, before taking off for Mumbai.
The airline expressed regret for the inconvenience caused and said the aircraft was diverted to Delhi because of bad weather.
Officials of the UAE carrier told passengers that the delay in Abu Dhabi was due to “technical problems”.
Once over India, the passengers were informed that the flight did not get permission to land in Mumbai due to congestion. As a result, the flight was diverted to the Indian capital.
Neerja Bhatia, an Etihad spokesperson based in Mumbai, first told IANS that she was not aware of the incident but responded later by saying: “Our flight was diverted to New Delhi due to heavy rain and bad weather conditions in Mumbai.
15/06/08 IANS/Thaindian.com, Thailand

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Categories: Foreign Jun 2008