15 left behind after Air India plane departs before time for Kuwait from Vijaywada

At least 15 passengers were reportedly left behind after a Kuwait-bound Air India flight took off from Gannavaram airport in Andhra Pradesh nearly three-and-a-half hours ahead of the scheduled time. Around 85 passengers were scheduled to travel on the flight.

Air India flies from Vijayawada to Kuwait every Wednesday.

According to the passengers stranded at the Gannavaram airport, the scheduled time for the flight's departure printed on their ticket was 1:10pm. But the flight took off at 9:45am.

Although Air India staff is said to have reported the change in the timing of the flight's departure, the passengers who missed the flight alleged that they did not receive any



information.

Chaos and confusion prevailed in the airport this morning as passengers queued up in front of the Air India kiosk, asking the staff about why they weren't informed about the change in timings.

One of them said most of the passengers came from small towns such as Tadepalligudem and Narsapuram. He also alleged that several of the stranded passengers were not allowed inside the airport since the flight had already departed.

"When we asked the Air India staff why we weren't being let inside, they said they had already intimated the travel agency through which most of us booked our flight. However, we did not receive any email or phone call," the aggrieved passenger said.