Bengaluru, February 28 Chaos erupted at Kempegowda International Airport here after passengers bound for Nepal staged a protest against Air India Express, alleging gross mismanagement that disrupted their travel plans for two consecutive days.
According to passengers, the flight departed from Bengaluru for Kathmandu at 10:30 am on Thursday. However, the aircraft returned without landing in Kathmandu under circumstances that were not clearly communicated to travelers, they alleged.
The same aircraft reportedly took off again on Friday morning, but once again failed to land in Kathmandu and was diverted to Lucknow. Passengers alleged that they were made to remain seated inside the aircraft for several hours after landing in Lucknow.
"We were kept inside the plane for hours without proper information. No one clearly explained what was happening," a passenger said during their protest on Friday.
After prolonged waiting and exhaustion, travelers staged a protest inside the aircraft, forcing the airline to fly them back to Bengaluru.
Upon arrival, several passengers sat in protest near the immigration area at the airport, expressing anger over what they described as a waste of two days of their time.
Protesters claimed they were confined inside the aircraft for more than 30 hours in total and accused the airline of poor coordination and communication. "Our entire trip to Nepal has been ruined. We had planned this well in advance and suffered financial losses," another passenger said.
Personnel from the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) intervened and attempted to pacify the agitating passengers.
However, many continued their sit-in protest demanding accountability and compensation from the airline.
More than 40 Kannada-speaking travelers were among those on board, who said their long-planned trip to Nepal was disrupted due to the airline's alleged failure to manage the situation effectively.
There was no immediate reaction from the airline.