A row over excess baggage charges by Air India has left nearly 130 Haj pilgrims from India stranded at Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah airport after the flight they were scheduled to board took off without them.
“Nearly 130 passengers (out of the total 270 on Air India flight to Jaipur, the first Haj flight) are left at the airport without water or any alternative accommodation by the carrier,” said an Indian official over phone from Jeddah.
However, an Air India spokesman from Mumbai said since the passengers could not get out of the airport after having checked-in, they were provided lunch and dinner by the airline. Indian Consulate officials say they have referred the matter to the authorities in India.
Pilgrims are allowed to carry 45 kilos of checked-in luggage and 10 kilos as hand baggage free of cost, compared with 20 kilos of checked-in luggage and seven kilos of hand baggage in commercial flights. Some of these pilgrims were carrying luggage much beyond the allowed capacity, the spokesman said.
The spokesman said 56 of the stranded passengers were airlifted to their homes on Wednesday. The spokesman also said some passengers had no money.