Private carrier IndiGo on Wednesday, December 15, said its operated flight from Rajahmundry to Tirupati (both in Andhra Pradesh) on December 14 was diverted to Bengaluru "due to technical reasons" and said no charges were collected from the passengers who decided to disembark in the Karnataka capital. On Tuesday, passengers, including some legislators, of the IndiGo flight that was supposed to land in Tirupati said that they had a harrowing experience after it took a detour and landed in Bengaluru.
The airlines allegedly demanded each passenger to pay Rs 5,000 to let them disembark but ultimately gave up after stiff resistance from the travellers, according to ruling YSRCP MLA RK Roja.
"IndiGo flight 6E 7265 flying from Rajahmundry to Tirupati was diverted to Bangalore due to technical reasons. The passengers were served refreshments on board and the flight was released after maintenance checks. Some passengers wished to offload from the aircraft and were accommodated on the next available flight or escorted out of the airport as per their request."
"No charges were collected from the passengers who decided to self offload at Bangalore airport," the airline said in a statement.
Speaking about the incident to Sakshi TV on Tuesday, MLA Roja had said that the passengers were made to remain inside the aircraft for nearly four hours. “We are waiting inside, as we are not sure if they have permission (to let us deboard). At first, we thought due to cloudy weather, the ground wasn’t visible which is why they couldn’t land in Renigunta. Now we have found out there was a technical problem,” she said, adding that there was panic and restlessness among the passengers.
Veteran TDP leader and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Yanamala Ramakrishnudu and YSRCP MLA Jogeswara Rao were among the 70 passengers aboard the flight.