Passengers stranded in Jeddah a snag develops in AI plane

Over 350 passengers, including IUML MP E T Mohammed Basheer, were stranded at Jeddah airport after a Boeing 747 of Air India suffered a technical problem there yesterday and the airline despatched two aircraft from Mumbai and Delhi to bring them back today.
The passengers of the Jeddah-Kozhikode flight AI-962 spent several hours at Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport before they were provided with accommodation by the airline at nearby hotels, an airline officials said here.
They said two Airbus A-320 aircraft were flown from Delhi and Mumbai today bring back the stranded passengers. A Boeing 747-400 of Air India can accommodate over 400 passengers, while a B 747-300 has 342 seats.

Due to the problem suspected in the hydraulic system of the aircraft, Air India rescheduled the departure of flights to Kozhikode and Hyderabad today.
The stranded passengers included several elderly Umrah pilgrims besides women and children, according to reports from Jeddah.
They said one of the two aircraft sent today would return later tonight while the other tomorrow early morning.