Escaped from burning plane? Take Rs 5K, forget it

A hapless air passenger saves life by slithering down an emergency chute as fire billows from the engines of an aircraft. The physical bruises and the trauma suffered, along with the precious time lost, in the mishap are worth just Rs 5,000.
So feels the Air India. The passengers who agreed to take a later flight after AI-829 (Boeing 747) bound for Riyadh caught fire while taxiing at Mumbai airport on Friday, were handed out a joke of a compensation of Rs5,000 each by the Maharaja, and that too in far off Riyadh.
The passengers evacuated from the burning plane on September 4, were brought to the airport lounge. Bruised and jittery, many of them refused to take the next AI flight to Riyadh. The bravehearts who agreed to fly with the AI were given letters, signed by a general manager, promising compensation. They were told that the compensation for their "inconvenience" would be given to them at Riyadh airport. An AI executive from Riyadh told DNA, "The compensation has been paid only to those who had the letter signed by our general manager. Each was paid the equivalent of Rs5,000 in Saudi Riyals." He refused to give the number of passengers compensated.
08/09/09 Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Airports Sep 2009, Foreign Sep 2009, NACIL Sep 2009