More than 250 Virgin Atlantic passengers, including Indians, who were stuck at the Diyarbakir Airport in southeastern Turkey for about 40 hours, landed at the Mumbai airport late Friday.
For the passengers aboard flight VS358, it began as a routine journey from London to Mumbai, but turned into an exhausting wait in a remote military airport in Turkey, after their aircraft was diverted.
Here’s a timeline of the ordeal.
April 2
The Mumbai-bound Airbus A350-1000 departed from London’s Heathrow as per schedule. Mid-flight, a passenger required urgent medical attention, forcing the aircraft to divert to Diyarbakır.
While the medical situation was addressed, the aircraft was grounded due to an ensuing technical fault.
Virgin Atlantic engineers began assessments, but passengers were left uncertain about their fate.
Passengers waiting at the Diyarbakir Airport in southeastern Turkey . X/@HanumanDassGD
April 3
By Thursday passengers were still stranded. A spokesperson from Virgin Atlantic acknowledged the disruption and said, “Passengers are being provided with overnight hotel accommodations and refreshments in Turkey, while we work towards a resolution.”
A passenger told PTI, on condition of anonymity, that all travelers were “sitting on the floor” with “no blankets available” and “no vegetarian food.”
April 4
Virgin Atlantic informed news outlets that, subject to receiving the necessary technical approvals, the airline would operate a special recovery flight — VS1358 — from Diyarbakır to Mumbai. Failing that, it would bus passengers to another Turkish airport.
Inside the terminal, patience ran out.
Preeti Sharma Menon, AAP Mumbai president and a relative of one of the stranded passengers, revealed that her family along with others endured “26 hours of sitting on metal chairs and sharing just one toilet.”
She said the airline had “abandoned the 270 passengers at the remote military Diyarbakır Airport, and the local staff had no resources to manage them despite trying their best.”
It wasn’t until the Indian Consul in Turkey intervened that passengers received proper meals and hotel accommodations, she 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,” Menon said Saturday.
April 4, 1:00 pm
After securing the required approvals, flight VS1358 took off from Diyarbakır at 13:00 local time on Friday.
“Customers are now en route to Mumbai, with an expected arrival at approximately 20:49 local time,” the airline said in a statement.
April 4, 9:00 PM IST – Homecoming in Mumbai
The plane touched down at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.
While Virgin Atlantic issued apologies and reiterated its commitment to safety, many passengers and their families questioned how a global airline could allow such prolonged suffering especially at a facility ill-equipped for international passengers.
“The safety and security of our customers and crew remains our highest priority, and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused and prolonged delay”, a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson had said.