Luggage row: Air India Express passengers left high and dry

Mangalore, November 6: Passengers of Mangalore-bound Air India Express flight, consisting mostly of commuters flying down for Eid celebrations, had a torrid time on Sunday as they had to wait for an entire day to get possession of their luggage.

The Dubai-Mangalore flight scheduled to reach the airport at 8.30pm arrived here half an hour behind the schedule, but the passengers were in for more shock as some of them were told that their luggage had not arrived with the flight. There were also some passengers who had got just one bag out of their two-three bags.

When the passengers raised the issue with the Air India Express officials, they assured them that the luggage was still lying in the Dubai airport and would be ferried in the next flight to Mangalore. “You can now go home. We will make sure you got your luggage tomorrow at your doorstep,” the official had said.

However, the following day (Sunday) the passengers were contacted again by the AI Express officials and were asked to come to the airport to “clear” their luggage. “As your baggage contains electronic items, you will have to personally come to the airport and get them released from the customs officials,” the Express representative had informed. By now the tone and tenor of the representative had changed and the passengers were made to feel like they had committed some blunder.

Some of the passengers also contended that their baggage did not contain any electronic goods. As per the instruction of the AI Express representative, the passengers reached airport on Sunday evening, with no clue about the shoddy treatment that awaited them. The officials did not respond to the pleas of the aggrieved passengers. When they contacted the officer of the Airport, he sought to disassociate himself from the row. “I have no role in the incident. Don't ask me anything,” was the harsh reply the anxious passengers got.

The passengers had to wait from 4.30pm to 7.30pm with literally no information about their luggage. “How can we fly in such a irresponsible airliner? They book more tickets than the allotted seats. This is the reason behind the present chaos,” Rafeeq, a passenger of the flight, said.

The passengers finally got to lay their hands on the luggage only at 9pm after an enervating wait, said Yahya, another passenger.

Most of the passengers on the flight on Sunday were Muslim immigrants, who were flying for a short Eid trip. But, the alleged irresponsibility on the part of the airlines company, left them with an experience that they would just like to forget as quickly as possible.