Date:19/11/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/11/19/stories/2007111950430100.htm

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Gulf passengers stranded

Kerala Bureau

Closure of Dubai, Sharjah airports following fog

Passengers protest against delay
Air India Express to set up control cell

Thiruvananthapuram: Flight services to Gulf countries have been delayed since Friday owing to the closure of airports in Dubai and Sharjah because of heavy fog. Hundreds of passengers were held up at Calicut International Airport at Karipur on Saturday following the rescheduling of Dubai, Sharjah and Muscat flights. Air-India Express flight IX-345 to Dubai via Thiruvananthapuram was delayed by about six hours on Sunday. Air-India Express flight IX-351 to Sharjah was delayed by over four hours.

Air India (Kochi) manager Jude Crasto said at a press conference in Kochi on Sunday that Air India Express would set up a control cell to monitor all flights from Kerala to minimise the impact on schedules. Mr. Crasto said corrective action would be taken on the complaints to improve the services offered to passengers at the airports.He appealed to the passengers to understand the situation and also to avoid sit-ins in the aircraft which can result in further delays. He said if passengers prevented other passengers from boarding, it would have a cascading effect on the flight schedule.

Passengers staged a protest in Karipur against the cancellation of an Indian flight from Sharjah on Saturday. After several hours’ delay, they were brought from Sharjah on an Air India Express flight. The passengers refused to disembark, demanding compensation for the hardship at Sharjah. They alleged that they had to wait for hours without food at that airport.

The passengers of Air-India Express IX-349 flight to Muscat staged a protest in Karipur on Saturday following rescheduling of the flight, blaming the airline for not providing them lodging. It was after a protest that they got accommodation. The flight left on Sunday morning.