Body stranded after AI mishap

Riyadh: The body of an Indian woman has been stranded for the last 72 hours at King Khaled International Airport (KKIA) in Riyadh on account of a disruption in Air India (AI) flights due to a Riyadh-bound AI plane catching fire in Mumbai on Friday.
The Indian carrier, on the other hand, has announced it is paying SR390 (5,000 Indian rupees) to the 229 passengers of the Riyadh-bound plane as a token of support and compensation.
“Some passengers have already collected the compensation money from the local AI office and many have called us inquiring about the details,” said a local AI official.
Referring to the inconvenience caused to passengers because of the reshuffling of flight schedules, Shihab Kottukad, general secretary of Pravasi Rehabilitation Center (PRC), an NGO for distressed Indian workers, said that a large number of passengers have been stranded.
“The body of the Indian housemaid, N. Satyawati, 39, has been lying at KKIA cargo terminal for the last two days.” Satyawati, who is from Matthaparu, a village in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, died a fortnight ago. She had been working in Riyadh for the last nine months.
Kottukad said the woman’s body may leave on the next AI flight this evening.
Another AI official, meanwhile, refuted claims that flights had been disrupted saying that all flights were now operating on time. The first AI flight (AI828), which was delayed by a few hours, took off from KKIA at 6 a.m. today (Saturday).
“Out of three India-bound flights from Riyadh, two are on time including the Calicut-bound AI828, which left at 11 a.m. today as per its schedule,” said the official. He said the next Mumbai-bound flight, AI820, was also expected to leave on time this evening.
05/09/09 Ghazanfar Ali Khan/Arab News, Saudi Arabia

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Categories: Air India - International Sep 2009, Airports Sep 2009, NACIL Sep 2009, Safety Sep 2009