'Traffic saved me': Student missed Air India flight by just 10 minutes
Ms Chauhan, a business administration student who lives in Bristol with her husband, had been visiting western India for a holiday.
The 28-year-old was due to fly home on AI171 on Thursday, which crashed shortly after take-off, killing 241 people on board and more on the ground.
But after arriving at the airport less than an hour before departure, airline staff turned her away.
"We got very angry with our driver and left the airport in frustration," she recalls. "I was very disappointed.
"We left the airport and stood at a place to drink tea and after a while, before leaving... we were talking to the travel agent about how to get a refund for the ticket.
"There, I got a call that the plane had gone down."
Speaking to the BBC's Gujrati service, she adds: "This is totally a miracle for me."
Ms Chauhan says she arrived at the airport at 12:20 PM local time, 10 minutes after boarding was due to commence.
Her digital boarding pass, seen by BBC News, shows her assigned to economy class seat 36G.
But despite having checked in online, she says airline staff would not allow her to complete the process at the airport.
She had travelled from Ankleshwar - 201km (125 miles) south of Ahmedabad - before being held up in Ahmedabad's city centre traffic.
Ms Chauhan says: "When I missed the flight, I was dejected. Only thing that I had in mind was, 'If I had started a little early, I would have boarded the plane'.
"I requested airline staff to allow me inside as I am only 10 minutes [late]. I told them that I am the last passenger and so please allow me to board the plane, but they did not allow me."
The Gatwick flight took off as scheduled on Thursday afternoon, but appeared to struggle to gain altitude and crashed about 30 seconds into the flight.
The plane hit a residential area, killing 241 passengers and 12 crew members. At least eight people on the ground are so far known to have died.
One passenger, British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh, survived the crash and was treated in hospital for injuries.
Indian, Portuguese and Canadian nationals were also on board.
Live updates: Grieving Air India crash families wait for answers as investigators search wreckage
BBC Verify on what could have caused the crash
Everything we know so far about flight AI171
As details continue to emerge, who are the victims?
Analysis: What does this mean for Boeing?
Among the 53 Britons to have been killed were a family who lived in Gloucester, three members of the same family who lived in London, and a married couple who ran a spiritual wellness centre in the capital.
Emergency services and officials worked late into Thursday night and into Friday to clear debris and search for answers.
Additional reporting by Sajid Patel
Air India plane crash claims at least 241 lives as one passenger survives
British man is only passenger to survive India plane crash
What could have caused Air India plane to crash in 30 seconds?
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trump plays golf in Scotland while protesters take to the streets and decry his visit
EDINBURGH, Scotland — President Trump played golf Saturday at his course on Scotland's coast while protesters around the country took to the streets to decry his visit and accuse United Kingdom leaders of pandering to the unpopular American president. Trump and his son Eric played with the U.S. ambassador to Britain, Warren Stephens, near Turnberry, a historic course that the Trump family's company took over in 2014. Security was tight, and protesters kept at a distance were unseen by the group during Trump's round. He was dressed in black with a white 'USA' cap and was spotted driving a golf cart. The president appeared to play an opening nine holes, stop for lunch, then head out for nine more. By the middle of the afternoon, plainclothes security officials began leaving, suggesting Trump was done for the day. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on the cobblestone and tree-lined street in front of the U.S. Consulate about 100 miles away in Edinburgh, Scotland's capital. Speakers told the crowd that Trump was not welcome and criticized British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for striking a recent trade deal to avoid stiff U.S. tariffs on goods imported from the U.K. Protests were planned in other cities as environmental activists, opponents of Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza and pro-Ukraine groups loosely formed a 'Stop Trump Coalition.' Anita Bhadani, an organizer, said the protests were 'kind of like a carnival of resistance.' June Osbourne, 52, a photographer and photo historian from Edinburgh, wore a red cloak and white hood, recalling 'The Handmaid's Tale.' Osbourne held up a picture of Trump with 'Resist' stamped over his face. 'I think there are far too many countries that are feeling the pressure of Trump and that they feel that they have to accept him, and we should not accept him here,' Osbourne said. The dual U.S.-British citizen said the Republican president was 'the worst thing that has happened to the world, the U.S., in decades.' Trump's late mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, and the president has suggested he feels at home in the country. But the protesters did their best to change that. 'I don't think I could just stand by and not do anything,' said Amy White, 15, of Edinburgh, who attended with her parents. She held a cardboard sign that said, 'We don't negotiate with fascists.' 'So many people here loathe him,' she said. 'We're not divided. We're not divided by religion, or race or political allegiance, we're just here together because we hate him.' Other demonstrators held signs of pictures with Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, as the fervor over files in the late child abuser's case has created a political crisis for the president. In the view of Mark Gorman, 63, of Edinburgh, 'The vast majority of Scots have this sort of feeling about Trump that, even though he has Scottish roots, he's a disgrace.' Gorman, who works in advertising, said he came out 'because I have deep disdain for Donald Trump and everything that he stands for.' A Scottish newspaper, the National, greeted Trump's arrival with a banner headline in its Friday edition that read, 'Convicted U.S. felon to arrive in Scotland.' Saturday's protests were not nearly as large as the throngs that demonstrated across Scotland when Trump played at Turnberry during his first term in 2018. But, as bagpipes played, people chanted, 'Trump out!' and raised dozens of homemade signs with such messages as 'No red carpet for dictators,' 'We don't want you here' and 'Stop Trump. Migrants welcome.' One dog had a sign attached that said 'No treats for tyrants.' Some on the far right took to social media to call for gatherings supporting Trump in places such as Glasgow. Trump also plans to talk trade with Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president. But golf is a major focus. The family will also visit another Trump course near Aberdeen in northeastern Scotland, before returning to Washington on Tuesday. The Trumps will cut the ribbon and play a new, second course in that area, which officially opens to the public next month. Scottish First Minister John Swinney, who is also set to meet with Trump during the visit, announced that public money will go to staging the 2025 Nexo Championship, previously known previously as the Scottish Championship, at Trump's first course near Aberdeen next month. 'The Scottish government recognizes the importance and benefits of golf and golf events, including boosting tourism and our economy,' Swinney said. At a protest Saturday in Aberdeen, Scottish Parliament member Maggie Chapman told the crowd of hundreds: 'We stand in solidarity, not only against Trump but against everything he and his politics stand for.' The president has long lobbied for Turnberry to host the British Open, which it has not done since he took over ownership. In a social media post Saturday, Trump quoted the retired golfer Gary Player as saying Turnberry was among the 'Top Five Greatest Golf Courses' he had played in as a professional. The president, in the post, misspelled the city where his golf course is. Weissert writes for the Associated Press.
Los Angeles Times
9 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Trump's trip to Scotland as his new golf course opens blurs politics and the family's business
EDINBURGH, Scotland — Lashed by cold winds and overlooking choppy, steel-gray North Sea waters, the breathtaking sand dunes of Scotland's northeastern coast rank among President Trump's favorite spots on Earth. 'At some point, maybe in my very old age, I'll go there and do the most beautiful thing you've ever seen,' Trump said in 2023, during his New York civil fraud trial, talking about his plans for future developments on his property in Balmedie, Aberdeenshire. At 79 and back in the White House, Trump is making at least part of that pledge a reality, landing in Scotland on Friday as his family's business prepares for the Aug. 13 opening of a golf course bearing his name. Trump will be in Scotland until Tuesday, and he plans to talk trade with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The Aberdeen area is already home to another of his courses, Trump International Scotland, and the Republican president is also visiting a Trump course near Turnberry, about 200 miles away on Scotland's southwest coast. Trump said upon arrival Friday evening that his son is 'gonna cut a ribbon' for the new course during his trip. Eric Trump also went with his father to break ground on the project back in 2023. Using a presidential overseas trip — with its sprawling entourage of advisors, White House and support staffers, Secret Service agents and reporters — to help show off Trump-brand golf destinations demonstrates how the president has become increasingly comfortable intermingling his governing pursuits with promoting his family's business interests. The White House has brushed off questions about potential conflicts of interest, arguing that Trump's business success before he entered politics was a key to his appeal to voters. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers called the Scotland swing a 'working trip.' She added that Trump 'has built the best and most beautiful world-class golf courses anywhere in the world, which is why they continue to be used for prestigious tournaments and by the most elite players in the sport.' Trump went to Scotland to play his Turnberry course during his first term in 2018 while en route to a meeting in Finland with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But this trip comes as the new golf course is already actively selling tee times. 'We're at a point where the Trump administration is so intertwined with the Trump business that he doesn't seem to see much of a difference,' said Jordan Libowitz, vice president for the ethics watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, known as CREW. 'It's as if the White House were almost an arm of the Trump Organization.' During his first term, the Trump Organization signed an ethics pact barring deals with foreign companies. An ethics framework for Trump's second term allows them. Trump's assets are in a trust run by his children, who are handling day-to-day operations of the Trump Organization while he's in the White House. The company has inked many recent lucrative foreign agreements involving golf courses, including plans to build luxury developments in Qatar and Vietnam, even as the Trump administration negotiates tariff rates for those countries and others. Trump's existing Aberdeenshire course has a history nearly as rocky as the area's cliffs. It has struggled to turn a profit and was found by Scottish conservation authorities to have partially destroyed nearby sand dunes. Trump's company also was ordered to cover the Scottish government's legal costs after the course unsuccessfully sued over the construction of a nearby wind farm, arguing in part that it hurt golfers' views. The development was part of the massive civil case, which accused Trump of inflating his wealth to secure loans and make business deals. Trump's company's initial plans for his first Aberdeen-area course called for a luxury hotel and nearby housing. His company received permission to build 500 houses, but Trump suggested he'd be allowed to build five times as many and borrowed against their values without actually building any homes, the lawsuit alleged. Judge Arthur Engoron found Trump liable last year and ordered his company to pay $355 million in fines — a judgment that has grown with interest to more than $510 million as Trump appeals. Weissert writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Chris Megerian in Washington contributed to this report.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
This Scottish Newspaper Cover "Welcoming" Donald Trump Is Going Viral
Donald Trump is going to Scotland! Related: He's headed there to visit his two golf courses and to meet with the British Prime Minister on a five-day rendezvous. The Scottish newspaper The National released this cover "welcoming" him on Friday: Related: People are loving this one. Related: "Accurate reporting still exists," one person said. "U.S. Media may bend the knee. Not the Scots," another person commented. Related: Another person pointed out, "Trump says we are now respected internationally because of him:" And this person said, "Hey @realDonaldtrump, hope you enjoy..." With protests planned, it should be an interesting trip. I just know the Scots are ready with some WILD insults. Also in In the News: Also in In the News: Also in In the News:
