A Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Bengaluru that was diverted to Istanbul following a medical emergency on board reached the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) here on Thursday afternoon.
The flight, LH754, arrived at KIA at around 1.30 pm, according to a source in the airport. It was scheduled for a 1.25 am arrival on Wednesday. Passengers who were boarding the flight from Istanbul took to social media slamming the airline’s handling of the delay and said they were stuck at the airport for over 32 hours.
A passenger on the flight, on arrival in Bengaluru, tweeted that the airline owed a response to the passengers regarding the compensation and on ensuring that such incidents are avoided in the future. Concerns were also raised about tracking the luggage of passengers who boarded other flights from Istanbul.
Another passenger tweeting from Istanbul said the airline’s ground crew conveyed “misleading” communication about the return flight and passengers, including senior citizens and children, had to look for facilities to sleep in the lounge. Speaking about the lack of clarity in communication regarding the return flight, a passenger said he had to book a ticket on another flight to get home.
Lufthansa had, on Wednesday, said the flight was diverted because oxygen cylinders used to treat the emergency had to be replaced. The airline said the replacement took more time than what was originally expected. On Thursday, the airline, in response to a question, tweeted that the flight took off from Istanbul at 4.44 am local time.
Grammy-winning composer Ricky Kej highlighted the passengers’ ordeal in a series of tweets. “...no hotel, no staff, no explanation, 300 passengers stranded, no info whatsoever,” he had tweeted on Wednesday. Kej said the passengers were stuck in Istanbul for over 34 hours.