CBI officer wants £ 50,000 from A-I for 12-hour torture

Mumbai: A senior Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officer has sued Air India for £50,000 (Rs 39 lakh), accusing the national carrier of in human treatment, flying with an underqualified pilot and providing false information. CBI DIG Praveen Salunkhe’s complaint to the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission comes after his flight was stranded for more than 12 hours at UK’s Gatwick airport.
During the 12 hours that they were forced to stay on board, Salunkhe says in his complaint, the airline provided them with no food or water. And when exhausted passengers started complaining, the officials on board called the local police instead of calming them down, he alleges.
On November 16, senior IPS officer Salunkhe boarded Flight No AI 131 from Mumbai to Heathrow to attend a mid-career training for IPS officers in UK. More than 30 IPS officers from across the country were on the flight to attend the training programme.
Minutes before 7 am GMT, when the flight was scheduled to land at the Heathrow airport, it was diverted to Gatwick. The pilot announced that due to bad weather at Heathrow Airport the flight was being diverted to Gatwick Airport — a few miles away.
Upon landing, the pilot reassured the passengers that the flight would proceed to Heathrow by 9.30 am GMT. However, when it did not take off that time, the passengers started getting restless.
The flight remained grounded at Gatwick airport for 12 hours, during which Air India allegedly failed to take care of the passengers as stocks of water and food ran out.
22/01/12 Mumbai Mirror

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Categories: Air India Jan 2012, Foreign Jan 2012