Several Indian passengers travelling from Mumbai to the UK’s Manchester were left stranded for over 13 hours at Kuwait Airport following an emergency landing.
The flight eventually took off from Kuwait at around 4:30 am on Monday, officials announced, adding that The Indian Embassy team, which was providing assistance, remained at the airport until the flight’s departure.
The passengers, who were stranded at the airport on Sunday, claimed they were not provided with adequate accommodation or food during the wait.
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Several videos shared on social media showed passengers of the Gulf Air flight (Mumbai to Manchester) in heated exchanges with airport authorities.
What happened?
Passengers stuck at Kuwait Airport for over 14 hours shared harrowing accounts of lack of support and denied help after their Gulf Air flight to Manchester made an emergency landing.
Indian Passengers Stranded at Kuwait Airport for Over 13 Hours After Emergency Landing
Passengers traveling from Mumbai to Manchester via Gulf Air faced a nightmare journey when their flight made an emergency landing at Kuwait International Airport due to an engine fire. Over 60… pic.twitter.com/vQyF1mge7p
— Kumaon Jagran (@KumaonJagran) December 1, 2024
The flight, which had departed from Mumbai, turned back mid-air before landing in Kuwait, passengers said. Reports also stated that the flight was diverted just 20 minutes before its scheduled destination.
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What did the passengers say?
Speaking to NDTV, Arzoo Singh, one of the stranded passengers, said, “I saw the engine was on fire. There was smoke. After landing, we asked them so many times to at least give us a place to sit. Everyone was sitting on the floor.”
She added that while senior citizens and families with infants were offered some accommodation inside the airport, there was no clarity on arrangements for other passengers.
The flight eventually took off from Kuwait at around 4:30 am on Monday. Image courtesy: X/@indembkwt
“I am saying this on live television. They said ‘if you’re entitled passport holders, and Indians and Pakistanis are not entitled passport holders’, they literally told us if you’re entitled for a transit visa, only then we can put you in a hotel outside,” she told the media outlet.
She further told NDTV, “We asked them what about us, people who are not ’entitled’ as you say? They said we will get back to you. We ran behind them for nearly two hours, only after that we got lounge access. We asked for blankets, we asked for food. They didn’t give. No one even gave us water for the first four hours.
Speaking to ANI, she said, “After we raised the issue on social media, senior officials from the Indian Embassy in Kuwait reached out to the Indian passengers stuck at the airport.”
Another passenger, Shivansh, expressed frustration on social media.
Reading WHY BHARAT MATTERS while getting stuck in Kuwait without any help
All British Passport holders got their hotels sorted with On-arrival visa while #IndianPassport holders have been left stranded without any info, food, or any kind of help. @DrSJaishankar@GulfAir#GF5 pic.twitter.com/5qUNEP8rMO
— Shivansh (@shiv4nsh) December 1, 2024
“Reading Why Bharat Matters while getting stuck in Kuwait without any help. All British passport holders got their hotels sorted with on-arrival visas, while Indian passport holders have been left stranded without any info, food, or any kind of help. Please help and provide us a visa so that at least we can get a hotel and wait for the next flight,” he wrote.
Sai Samrat Anandapu, who was travelling from Hyderabad to Manchester, also shared his experience on X. He wrote, “I was traveling from Hyderabad to Manchester with a transit in Bahrain. Our flight started at 2.10 am, but after 1.5 hours the left engine caught fire, leading to an emergency landing in Kuwait City.”
01.12.2024 at 2.50 – I was traveling on a Gulf Air flight with other 268 passengers last night when the left engine caught fire mid air when we are cruising at 15000 meters attitude, leading to an emergency landing in Kuwait City. 💤💤@gulfair #thankyou #flight #fire pic.twitter.com/KnA3h4Z6c1
— Sai Samrat Anandapu (@SamratChintu) December 1, 2024
“We’ve been waiting for support for over six hours, but only British nationals and GCC residents have been accommodated, leaving us Indians without assistance. There are children and elderly among us, with no confirmation about our flight to Manchester. Please provide accommodation as we need to freshen up and attend to our daily needs,” he posted.
Indian embassy steps in
The Indian Embassy in Kuwait took note of the situation and sent a team to assist the stranded passengers and coordinate with the airline. Officials stated that passengers were accommodated in two airport lounges.
Embassy @indembkwt had immediately taken up the matter with Gulf Air in Kuwait. A team from Embassy is at the airport to assist the passengers and coordinate with the airline. Passengers have been accommodated in 2 airport lounges. pic.twitter.com/1OySe3KGLc
— India in Kuwait (@indembkwt) December 1, 2024
In a post on X, the embassy wrote, “A team from Embassy is at the airport to assist the passengers and coordinate with the airline. Passengers have been accommodated in 2 airport lounges.”
“Efforts are being made accommodate passengers in airport hotel which is currently unavailable due to ongoing GCC Summit (Gulf Cooperation Council Summit)…It may be noted that Indian nationals do not fall under Visa on arrival facility in Kuwait.”
The embassy also informed that food and water had been made available for the stranded passengers at the lounges.
Gulf Air flight to Manchester finally departed at 0434 hours today carrying stranded Indian passengers among others. Embassy team was on the ground till the flight departed. pic.twitter.com/47GVer4Bs4
— India in Kuwait (@indembkwt) December 2, 2024
To resolve the situation, the airline arranged a flight at 3:30 am on Monday to carry the passengers from Kuwait to Manchester. Providing an update, the embassy posted on Monday morning, “Gulf Air flight to Manchester finally departed at 0434 hours today carrying stranded Indian passengers among others. Embassy team was on the ground till the flight departed.”
Gulf Air has not yet issued a statement regarding the incident.
Content retrieved from: https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/indians-stranded-kuwait-airport-harrowing-experience-gulf-air-mumbai-manchester-13840665.html.
