Indians on Virgin Atlantic London-Mumbai flight stranded in Turkey | Mumbai news

MUMBAI: More than 250 passengers on a Virgin Atlantic flight, a large number of them Indian, are stranded at a small military airport in south-eastern Turkey. They have been stuck there since Wednesday morning, with barely any basic amenities, after their Mumbai-bound aircraft from London’s Heathrow airport was diverted to the Diyarbakır airport.

The flight was to land in Mumbai at 1.40 am on Thursday but there is no clarity on when it will depart from Turkey.

The flight was diverted after a medical emergency on board, but the A350-1000 aircraft developed a technically snag and could not take off. Passengers claim the situation is growing increasingly unbearable.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said, “Our engineers are continuing their thorough assessments of the aircraft, and we are actively exploring all options including the operation of an alternative aircraft to ensure customers can reach Mumbai as soon as possible.”

A passenger appealed in a post on X, “More than 200 Indian passengers, including a pregnant woman, are stranded without water and basic facilities. Please intervene urgently.”

Mumbai chief of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Preeti Sharma Menon’s sister and niece are on the flight. “It’s been 24 hours and not a single airline representative has met the passengers. They have barely any food, one toilet amongst 275 pax, phones running out of batteries as they don’t have Turkish adapters. There are babies, pregnant women, diabetics and old people in this ordeal,” Sharma Menon claimed on Thursday.

“Diyarbakir is small military airport with no shops, no amenities, not even adequate toilets. It has three staff members and none of them speaks English. Virgin Atlantic has not thought it necessary to provide basic hygiene or hospitality for over 24 hours,” she added.