Wedding group delays Jet flight to Bhopal for 2 hours

Initially, the airline crew denied boarding to the 17 travelers who came in late. But then, the rest of the group on board refused to fly without them.

MUMBAI: Latecomers from a wedding group allegedly delayed a Bhopal-bound Jet Airways flight at Mumbai airport for nearly two hours, triggering unruly scenes that required security officers’ intervention.

Passengers, some of whom filmed videos of the chaos inside the aircraft and tweeted about the incident, said the flight was delayed because the airline wanted to accommodate fliers who failed to reach on time.

The incident happened on flight 9W 7083 that was scheduled to leave at 5.55 am on Friday.

Minutes before takeoff, passengers learnt the aircraft was not moving because some passengers were running late. A Jet Airways spokesperson blamed ADITI SHRIVASTAVA, Passenger

a technical glitch that led to overbooking beyond the norm.

Rules state that check-in counters should shut down 45 minutes before takeoff. Often fliers reaching the airport but failing to make it to the check-in counter within that deadline are denied boarding.

But on Friday, the airline made an exception, passengers alleged.

“Initially the airline crew denied boarding to the 17 travelers who came in late. But then, the rest of the group on board refused to fly without them,” said Aditi Shrivastava, a passenger who works with an entertainment company in Mumbai.

As the flight was overbooked, the airline made an announcement requesting other travellers to give their seats to accommodate the guests from the group.

Parikshit Reddy tweeted about a fellow passenger who was travelling to attend his father’s funeral. “Stranded, helpless gentlemen waiting to see his dad’s dead body.”

The scenario turned ugly when members of wedding group blocked the aircraft doors. The scenes were captured in a video shot by Shrivastava which went viral online. The video shows the airline staff refused to call security men despite passengers’ demand.