A two-hour pit stop proved to be a 14-hour ordeal and more for 481 passengers aboard two Iranian jumbo jets that were stranded at Calcutta airport from Monday night till Tuesday afternoon because of a refuelling dispute.
Airport officials said many of the 305 passengers aboard the larger of the two aircraft, a Boeing 747, were taken ill after spending the entire period cooped up in the stationary plane. One of them required emergency medical attention along with a young woman from the other aircraft, whose 176 passengers were allowed to deplane and spend the night in the transit lounge.
Both aircraft were Bangkok-bound and operated by Mahan Air, an Iranian private airline that buys jet fuel from Indian Oil while flying on the Tehran-Bangkok route. The twin flights were to halt at the city airport for not more than two hours, but Indian Oil apparently refused to provide fuel unless the airline made an immediate payment.
“Planes are refuelled on cash and carry basis and credit is extended to only those airlines with whom we have an arrangement. We do not yet have a credit arrangement with Mahan Air, so we asked it to arrange for the money for the jet fuel. There was no delay on our part,” a senior official of Indian Oil said.
As the stand-off continued through the night, it was left to the director of the city airport to contact the Iranian embassy in Delhi and the Indian Oil head office in Mumbai to initiate negotiations. The airline finally paid the oil company through its official banker, sources said.
The Boeing 747, which had landed in the city at 1.05am, took off for Bangkok at 2.53pm. The Airbus 320, which was on the tarmac since 8.15pm on Monday, left at 3.20pm.
“This is the first known instance of two international flights with so many passengers being stranded for more than a night in Calcutta because of a refuelling issue. Flights suffering technical snags have been stranded here before, but this was a unique situation,” an airport official said.
Those on the Boeing were forced to spend 14 hours inside the aircraft because the transit lounge of the international terminal does not have space for so many people.
None of the passengers aboard either aircraft had an Indian visa, so they couldn’t be allowed beyond the transit lounge either.
Boeing passenger Ghabani Nargis, 56, almost collapsed from nausea, exhaustion and anxiety. Mahanazi Zani, 23, was taken ill in the transit lounge. At least 15 other passengers complained of exhaustion and general discomfort.
“They were unable to eat properly and didn’t get adequate sleep, which triggered these symptoms. The airport doctor examined the two women and gave them medication,” an airport official said.
All the passengers were provided dinner and a breakfast spread of sandwiches, muffins, omelettes, tea and coffee from the restaurant at the international terminal. Around 1pm, lunch was arranged for them through Taj Sats, the catering service provider at Calcutta airport.
Airport sources said 330 lunch packets were sent to the Boeing 747 and 230 of them were served to the Airbus passengers in the transit lounge.
An official of Mahan Air in Calcutta said the airline had been using the city airport as a refuelling halt for over a month. “Until Monday night, we did not have any payment dispute with Indian Oil,” he said.
An Indian Oil functionary said Mahan Air should have followed the protocol for “casual flights” and intimated its fuel requirement ahead of arrival, accompanied by an advance payment.
“Mahan Air had informed us that there would be three flights last week and we did refuel those. It didn’t make an advance payment for the two flights that landed in the city on Monday night,” he alleged.
http://www.telegraphindia.com
http://www.telegraphindia.com
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