'No food, water': Passengers stuck for 5 hours without AC on Air India Express flight in Dubai
Passengers onboard an Air India Express flight from Dubai to Jaipur were reportedly left stranded inside a grounded aircraft for over five hours without air-conditioning, food, or water, triggering anger and allegations of negligence.
Flight IX-196, scheduled to depart from Dubai at 7.25pm on June 13, was unable to take off on time due to a technical snag. But instead of being allowed to deboard, more than 150 passengers were allegedly kept inside the aircraft as cabin temperatures soared.
A video of the ordeal, posted by Indian dietician and social media influencer Arzoo Sethi, has since gone viral. In the video, visibly distressed passengers can be seen drenched in sweat, fanning themselves with safety cards and whatever they could find to stay cool.
'We were boarded at 7pm, but the flight's AC never came on. My three-year-old son was soaked in sweat. Not a single attendant came to help us. No one gave us water, let alone food,' Sethi said in her post. 'If the aircraft had a technical fault, they could've let us wait in the terminal. But they chose to lock us inside like this.'
Describing the experience as 'horrific' and 'terrifying,' Sethi publicly tagged Air India Express, saying: 'This is a serious safety lapse. Please take responsibility for your passengers' well-being before it's too late.'
Another passenger, Ravi Kumar, echoed her concerns. 'There was suffocation. The air-conditioning wasn't working. We kept pressing the call button, but no one came. It felt like torture,' he said.
The flight finally took off at 12.44am, over five hours behind schedule and landed in Jaipur at 2.44am on June 14.
Several passengers have since taken to social media to express their outrage and demand accountability from the airline.
There has been no official response yet from Air India Express. A comment from the airline was not immediately available.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Khaleej Times
4 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
'Ice cream reminded me of kids': Dubai workers get free juice, water amid summer heat
Under the blazing sun at Azizi Venice in Dubai South, hundreds of construction workers paused their daily grind to receive something simple yet deeply appreciated — cold water, juice, and frozen treats. As part of the Al Freej Fridge humanitarian campaign, now in its second edition, thousands of bottles of water, juice, and ice cream were handed out to workers at the massive construction site, offering not just physical relief from the heat but a moment of care and recognition. The campaign aims to distribute two million refreshments to workers across the emirate during peak summer, with the goal of reducing heat-related health risks like dehydration and heat exhaustion. The initiative is supported by Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives and launched by Ferjan Dubai in collaboration with Suqia and the UAE Food Bank. Among the crowd receiving the items was Mohammed Riyaz, a steel fixer from Bangladesh. 'I have been working in Dubai for six years,' he said, holding a chilled bottle of mango juice. 'Most of our work is under the sun, cutting and fixing steel rods for the buildings. The heat can make you dizzy some days. But today, this cold drink felt like a blessing. It gives us energy to go on.' Watch a video, here: Lal Bahadur, a worker from Nepal, sat under a temporary shade, enjoying a popsicle with his bright smile. 'When you are climbing up and down in this heat, even your helmet feels like an oven,' he joked. 'This kind of gesture … we may not say much, but it means a lot. It shows someone is thinking of us.' Azeem Khan, a Pakistani site cleaner responsible for keeping the area tidy despite dust and debris, said he often walks over 8,000 steps each day. 'By the afternoon, my shirt is soaked and I feel drained,' he said. 'The juice and water came just at the right time. And the ice cream, it reminded me of home and my kids.' The distribution was made possible by dozens of volunteers who braved the heat alongside the workers to hand out refreshments, helping them carry cartons and making sure no one was left out. The Al Freej Fridge campaign, which runs until August 23, is continuing across different parts of Dubai, targeting workers in the cleaning, landscaping, delivery, and construction sectors. While the initiative delivers physical relief, it also carries a bigger message, that compassion, especially during the toughest days of summer, goes a long way.
The National
19 hours ago
- The National
UAE Property: ‘Can my landlord charge a maintenance fee when I vacate?'
Question: I am writing to raise a concern regarding my recent experience with a property I vacated in the Al Jaddaf area in Dubai. When I first moved in, I submitted a security deposit of Dh4,000 ($1,089) for a unit measuring about 970 square feet. The rent was initially Dh80,000, then increased to Dh85,000, and was most recently raised to Dh93,000 following a change in building management. Due to the continuous rent increases, I decided not to renew and chose to vacate. During my two-year tenancy, the apartment experienced significant issues, such as cracks on the walls, the AC was never cleaned or serviced, the building's alarm system frequently rang at night, and the gas provider disconnected the alarm because it rang for no reason. Additionally, I personally paid to fix the shattaf and door, as maintenance requests during my tenancy were consistently ignored. Despite all this, I have now been charged more than Dh1,400 for 'maintenance' on vacating. I have asked the agent for a clear breakdown, and in response, I received unrelated images. What is more troubling is the pattern of discrimination I encountered. As a 30-year-old Somali woman, I often felt treated unfairly. There were instances where agents openly said that they do not rent to Nigerians or Sudanese, and when confronted, they deflected responsibility by blaming the landlord. I would appreciate your advice on how to escalate this matter. TA, Dubai Answer: It is common practice to give back a rented property in the manner it was given at the start of the tenancy. If it was painted and cleaned before, this would need to be done while returning the property. This will ensure your deposit will not be withheld. Some landlords describe this work as maintenance but in reality, it is just presentation. You mention a few points such as cracks appearing and that the AC was never cleaned. Unless the cracks were significant and you reported them, it is the landlord's responsibility to sort these out, but again, unless they were structural defects, these cracks would normally disappear when the apartment would be decorated. The AC cleaning would be done only if there is a contract to do so or by request from yourself and should be done at least once a year. It is not clear from your email if you complained about this. The building alarm going off is unfortunate but does not constitute a financial loss. I have reviewed the list of maintenance charges against you, but find them to be reasonable. If you do not want them to charge you, your choice would be to sort out the cleaning and painting yourself. I have not seen your tenancy agreement, but the common practice on maintenance issues is that if there is any issue below Dh500, this would be the tenant's responsibility and above this sum is on the landlord. I can only assume the shattaf and door came to less than the Dh500. Q: I want your guidance regarding a property transaction in process for a unit I am selling in Dubai. On May 15, I signed form F with a buyer, with the help of a registered broker. The contract is valid for two months from the date of signing. Before the signing of form F and payment of the 10 per cent security deposit, the buyer had obtained mortgage pre-approval. However, the initial pre-approval has lapsed and a subsequent reapplication was unsuccessful. As of June 20, the broker is working to obtain a new pre-approval through a different financial institution. As the contract is nearing expiry, will form F be at risk of breach due to the buyer's inability to secure financing so far? Also, if the transaction fails to proceed due to the buyer's financing situation, would I be eligible to claim the 10 per cent deposit or would this be subject to specific conditions or dispute resolution processes? I want to understand the correct procedures and options available to me under current regulations. KK, Dubai A: I only have the information given in your email, so I must make a few assumptions. I can only confirm your first question if there are certain clauses to confirm this in form F. Sometimes, it is mentioned that if the buyer cannot get final approval on finance for whatever reason, the deal can be considered null and void without penalties. If this clause is present, the buyer can walk away from the deal without repercussions. For your second point, the answer should be straightforward, but unfortunately it is not. Unless the buyer confirms in writing that they are in breach of the deal, you can only lay claim to the 10 per cent by filing a case at the Dubai courts. This will take time and be subject to fees. The end result should be to sell the property but sometimes, things go wrong or take a while to sort, so I would organise an addendum or extension to form F to finalise the deal. If things take too long or it is clear the buyer cannot purchase the property, only then should you seek legal recourse.
Khaleej Times
21 hours ago
- Khaleej Times
Air India crash: Indian investigators download black box data
Investigators have downloaded flight recorder data from an Air India crash this month that killed 260 people, India's civil aviation ministry said on Thursday, a long-awaited step towards understanding the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. The London-bound Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed moments after takeoff from India's Ahmedabad city on June 12, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and the rest on the ground. The black boxes of the plane — the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) — were recovered in the days that followed, one from the rooftop of a building at the crash site on June 13, and the other from the debris on June 16. The ministry said data from the front recorder was accessed on Wednesday by a team led by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), with the US National Transportation Safety Board. "These efforts aim to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to the accident and identify contributing factors to enhance aviation safety and prevent future occurrences," the ministry said in a statement. US National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy told Reuters on Thursday she hopes the Indian government will be able to share details from the investigation into the crash in short order. "For aviation safety and for public safety and public awareness we hope that they will make their findings public swiftly," Homendy said on the sidelines of an aviation event. She said the NTSB team has been working diligently to provide assistance to India and "we have had excellent cooperation from the Indian government and the AAIB." The probe into the crash of the Air India plane, which started losing height after reaching an altitude of 650 feet, includes a focus on engine thrust, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. The Wall Street Journal has reported that investigators believe the Dreamliner had its emergency-power generator operating when it crashed. Most air crashes are caused by multiple factors, with a preliminary report expected about 30 days after the accident. Two GE recorders, one in the jet's front and another at the rear, are installed on Boeing's 787 jets and record the same set of flight data. GE, which sent experts to India, manufactured the engines on the Air India 787 and also produced the combined flight data and cockpit voice recorder, called an "enhanced airborne flight recorder". The forward recorder is equipped with an independent power supply that provides backup power to the device for about 10 minutes if the plane's power source is lost, the NTSB said in a 2014 report. The decision to begin downloading recorder data around two weeks after the crash was unusually late, three experts told Reuters, and followed speculation that the so-called black boxes could be sent to the United States for analysis. US aviation safety expert Anthony Brickhouse said accident investigators would typically have already given some update on the recorders' status, and have begun downloading data in such a high profile crash. "Normally countries know that the world is watching," he said. India said last week that it was yet to decide where the black boxes would be analyzed. The data retrieved from them could provide critical clues into the aircraft's performance and any conversations between the pilots preceding the crash. India has said its actions have been taken in full compliance with domestic laws and international obligations in a time bound manner.
