Chaos at Patna Airport: Passengers left without baggage as 2 Air India Express land without luggage
Passengers arriving on two Air India Express flights at Patna's Jayprakash Narayan International Airport on Saturday morning were left shocked after discovering that none of their checked-in baggage had arrived with them.
What started as a routine landing quickly descended into confusion, as tired travellers waited around empty conveyor belts, only to realise their luggage was missing entirely, according to a ToI report.
The incident involved flights IX-2936 from Bengaluru and IX-1634 from Chennai, which landed at 8.23am and 8.50am, respectively. Passengers were directed to collect their luggage from belts 4 and 3, but after prolonged waits, it became clear that no baggage was arriving, reported TOI.
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"I waited for more than an hour, but the belt was empty," said Vivek Sharma, a passenger from Bengaluru. 'Luggage to be delivered to passengers home addresses'. "Airport staff informed us that due to bad weather in Bengaluru, our luggage was not loaded. Despite repeated enquiries at the airline's counter, we were given no clear answers about where our bags were or when we would get them back," Sharma added.
"All my medicines are in that luggage. I can't wait another day," he said.
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CISF personnel and airline staff had to step in to manage the crowd, assuring passengers that arrangements were being made to bring the baggage on subsequent flights. Airline representatives blamed the issue on bad weather in Bengaluru and Chennai, compounded by Patna airport's short runway. They also cited weight restrictions and safety protocols as reasons for not loading the baggage.
"The luggage will be delivered to your home addresses once it arrives," airline staff told the crowd.
Airport officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the primary issue was the aircraft's load factor. "This happens occasionally when departing from Patna where airlines are forced to unload checked baggage to meet the maximum take-off weight. The airport's shorter runway makes it more likely," said an official.
Air India Group is avoiding certain airspace in the Middle East, resulting in longer flight durations while Air India Express is cancelling some services due to the evolving situation.
The group has two airlines -- Air India and Air India Express -- and the latter operates a significant chunk of the services to the Middle East with narrow-body planes.
"Amid escalating tensions in the Gulf region, Air India Group confirms that our flights currently do not operate over the airspaces of Iran, Iraq, and Israel.
"As a proactive measure, we will be progressively avoiding the use of certain airspace over the Persian Gulf in the coming days, opting instead for alternative paths for flights to destinations, including the UAE, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait," Air India said in a statement on Sunday.
As per the statement, the adjustment may lead to extended flight durations for these services as well as for select flights to/from Europe and North America.
According to some travel industry bodies, ticket bookings for Air India flights have seen a drop of up to 20 per cent on international as well as domestic routes, while average fares have declined 8-15 per cent as a result of the plane crash in Ahmedabad.
An Air India flight from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick crashed on June 12, seconds after takeoff, killing over 270 people onboard and on the ground.
The second source said services are being cancelled on account of the escalating tensions in the Middle East as well as airspace congestion. Passengers are being informed in advance about the cancellations, the source added.
There was no official comments from Air India Express on the flight cancellations.
Air India operates flights to Dubai, Doha, Riyadh, and Jeddah in the Gulf region.
Meanwhile, in the statement, Air India also said it is in continuous consultation with its external security advisors and is vigilantly monitoring the evolving situation, ready to implement additional measures, if required, to uphold the safety and integrity of our operations.
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