IN A bizarre turn of events last week, about 600 passengers flying on a Comtel Air charter flight from Amritsar to Birmingham were asked to pay a fee of around 23,000 pounds (US$35,570) when the plane landed in Vienna for refueling.
Airline crew on the Austrian-registered jet informed the passengers that they did not have the resources to pay for fuel or airport charges, and asked passengers to chip in by withdrawing cash from the ATM facilities at the airport terminal.
The passengers, mostly immigrants from the northern Indian state of Punjab, and UK residents who were returning to England after visiting their ancestral homes and relatives in India, protested but eventually paid out the cash, allowing the flight to carry on to its destination.
A spokesperson for Comtel Air has promised tour operators in India that the money would be refunded to the affected passengers, but so far no schedule has been set for such a payment.
According to a report by The BBC, the incident was the result of a monetary conflict between Comtel Air and Skyjet UK, a British travel consultancy that has filed for bankruptcy.
Comtel Air subsequently cancelled four scheduled flights on the same route after news of Skyjet’s insolvency broke, leaving several hundred passengers stranded in India without the return flight back home.
Jatinder Gupta, partner, Amritsar-based Dove Travels, said: “The airline’s credentials should be investigated and punitive action taken immediately so future passengers are protected against such mala fide (bad faith) intent and exploitation.”
“Punjab has huge potential and British Midland International (BMI) has recently started flights, which should encourage other full service international carriers to start flying to Amritsar.”
“We have re-booked some of the stranded passengers on BMI flights,” Gupta added.
