Eight-hour delay of Kuwait flight triggers tension at Chennai airport

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Follow us:WhatsappFacebookTwitterTelegram.cls-1{fill:#4d4d4d;}.cls-2{fill:#fff;}Google NewsAn eight-hour delay of a flight from Kuwait triggered pandemonium through Saturday at the Chennai airport.Not only were the cab drivers and relatives of the arriving passengers forced to stay on indefinitely till Kuwait Airways flight KU343 arrived, the fact that the same aircraft was supposed to head back to Kuwait (KU344), ensured that a plane-load of passengers waiting to depart got stuck. The angry outbound passengers clogged up the security area, before being accommodated in a hotel.The flight from Kuwait with 210 passengers was scheduled to land at 4.30 am, but was apparently held up due to a technical snag.“They had posted the flight as ‘delayed’ right from 4 am, but no one at the counter told us how long this would last,” said Sridaran V, who had come to pick up his niece and husband.Because of the lack of clarity on the delay, they could not leave the airport. “By the time the flight landed at 12.45 pm, we were disgusted,” he said.But a bigger shock awaited him and all the other members of the ‘reception party’ for the flight - when they finally queued up to leave the airport. The parking attendants asked them to pay a huge fee for an 8-hour stretch. This was particularly expensive for those who had opted to park in the premium parking sections (which cost about Rs 120 per hour). “We tried reasoning with them that it was not our fault that the flight was delayed, but the rush was increasing and so we just paid up and got out,” he said.Though a little fracas occurred with a few taxi drivers, most people just paid the parking fee and left the airport.Meanwhile, the outgoing flight was only able to leave only after 1.30 pm. Passengers who had checked in to depart at 6 am had a tough time.“They had to be shifted around, till the international traffic peak hour ended. And after that, the airline moved them to a hotel,” said a security official.They were then brought back, two hours prior to departure and allowed to skip a few of the check-in formalities.first published:August 12, 2012, 08:17 ISTlast updated:August 12, 2012, 08:17 IST
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An eight-hour delay of a flight from Kuwait triggered pandemonium through Saturday at the Chennai airport.

Not only were the cab drivers and relatives of the arriving passengers forced to stay on indefinitely till Kuwait Airways flight KU343 arrived, the fact that the same aircraft was supposed to head back to Kuwait (KU344), ensured that a plane-load of passengers waiting to depart got stuck. The angry outbound passengers clogged up the security area, before being accommodated in a hotel.

The flight from Kuwait with 210 passengers was scheduled to land at 4.30 am, but was apparently held up due to a technical snag.

“They had posted the flight as ‘delayed’ right from 4 am, but no one at the counter told us how long this would last,” said Sridaran V, who had come to pick up his niece and husband.

Because of the lack of clarity on the delay, they could not leave the airport. “By the time the flight landed at 12.45 pm, we were disgusted,” he said.

But a bigger shock awaited him and all the other members of the ‘reception party’ for the flight - when they finally queued up to leave the airport. The parking attendants asked them to pay a huge fee for an 8-hour stretch. This was particularly expensive for those who had opted to park in the premium parking sections (which cost about Rs 120 per hour). “We tried reasoning with them that it was not our fault that the flight was delayed, but the rush was increasing and so we just paid up and got out,” he said.

Though a little fracas occurred with a few taxi drivers, most people just paid the parking fee and left the airport.

Meanwhile, the outgoing flight was only able to leave only after 1.30 pm. Passengers who had checked in to depart at 6 am had a tough time.

“They had to be shifted around, till the international traffic peak hour ended. And after that, the airline moved them to a hotel,” said a security official.

They were then brought back, two hours prior to departure and allowed to skip a few of the check-in formalities.