Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Preeti Sharma Menon on Saturday said that pressure from passengers, Indian authorities and media finally got Virgin Atlantic to "rescue" passengers stranded in Turkey for 40 hours.

More than 250 Virgin Atlantic passengers, including Indians, landed at the Mumbai airport late Friday evening. The passengers were stuck at the Diyarbakir Airport in Turkey after their Mumbai-bound aircraft from London was diverted to the airport on Wednesday.

AAP Mumbai president Menon, whose relatives were on the flight, said the airline abandoned the 270 passengers at the remote military Diyarbakir Airport, and the local staff had no resources to manage them despite trying their best.

It was at the intervention of the Indian Consul in Turkey that they were given good food and hotel stay after a 26-hour ordeal of sitting on metal chairs and sharing just one toilet, she said.

Menon said, "Pressure from passengers, the Indian authorities, and media finally got Virgin Atlantic to rescue the passengers who landed in Mumbai two days after their scheduled arrival, having spent almost three days in transit."

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