Stranded passengers take to Twitter to call out airline

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: The LH 754 flight had to make an emergency landing in Istanbul, Turkey, on Oct 18 due to a medical emergency. The experience has turned harrowing for the Indian passengers on board who have been stranded at the airport for over 40 hours without access to their luggage or hotel rooms and no updates about when they will get back in the air.

With little to no response from Lufthansa, they were left with no option but to take to Twitter. Chief among them, music composer Ricky Kej who stated: “Can’t believe how Lufthansa takes Indian customers for granted. My Frnkfurt-Blore flight landed last evening at 7pm in Istanbul for medical emergency. 17 hours later – no hotel, no staff, no explanation, 300 passengers stranded, no info whatsoever.” He was not the only passenger complaining.

“Please help us…we are stuck in Istanbul airport with no help from Lufthansa airlines. We are not able to even use airport WiFi freely… it’s hard to reach anyone as this is not our territory. #helpIndia #strandedIndians,” Shekhar Yeleswarapu tweeted.

Lufthansa airlines responded to state: “Lufthansa Flight LH754/18 October from Frankfurt to Bangalore had to be diverted to Istanbul due to a medical emergency on board. For safety reasons, the oxygen cylinders used to treat the medical emergency must be replaced before continuing the flight.

Unfortunately, this takes more time than originally expected. The flight continuation from Istanbul to Bangalore is now scheduled for 8 pm local time today. Lufthansa deeply regrets the circumstances and is doing everything to minimise inconvenience for its passengers.” Hopefully the passengers can get home safely soon.