Fliers stranded for 40 hours on Virgin Atlantic flight 'freezing in Turkey'

Over 250 passengers have been stranded for over 40 hours at Turkey's Diyarbakir airport after a Virgin Atlantic flight was cancelled due to medical and technical issues

More than 250 passengers on a Virgin Atlantic flight from London to Mumbai are facing a nightmare ordeal after being stranded for over 40 hours at Turkey’s Diyarbakir airport.

 

Many of the passengers are Indian nationals, and their journey has been upended after the flight was cancelled due to a series of unforeseen events.

 

The VS358 flight, originally scheduled to depart London on April 2nd, was diverted to Diyarbakir after an “urgent medical diversion”. Once the plane landed, a technical issue with the aircraft left passengers stranded on the tarmac with no immediate solution, reported NDTV.

 

“We’re freezing in Turkey,” one passenger wrote on social media as the temperatures dipped into single digits. 

Many passengers have also expressed frustration, with reports of a single toilet shared among nearly 300 people and no blankets provided to endure the cold. “It’s been 24 hours and not a single airline representative has met the passengers. They have barely any food, one toilet amongst 275 pax, phones running out of batteries as they don’t have Turkish adapters. There are babies, pregnant women, diabetics, and old people in this ordeal,” wrote AAP leader Preeti Sharma-Menon on social media platform X, urging for government intervention.

 

“My family member is stuck up in Diyarbakir. She was visiting to meet her father, who has a weak medical condition,” mentioned Sanjay Shah on X.  “Why such cheap behaviour from a top aviation company? No food, no water. All the cabin crew vanished after landing.” 

  Another social media user, Satyam Surana, who initially highlighted the plight of the passengers, said, “@VirginAtlantic has brutally failed to give any substantial update & support to the stranded passengers. Women, senior citizens, babies, everyone is stranded and frustrated.”

 

Meanwhile, a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson apologised for the inconvenience, assuring that the safety of passengers was their highest priority. “We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused. Subject to receiving the necessary technical approvals, we will continue flight VS1358 to Mumbai from Diyarbakir Airport at 12.00 local time on Friday, April 4th,” the spokesperson said. 

However, if technical approvals aren’t granted, the airline plans to bus passengers to another Turkish airport for an alternative flight to Mumbai.

 

“In the meantime, passengers are being provided with overnight hotel accommodation and refreshments in Turkey, while we work towards a resolution,” Virgin Atlantic mentioned.  The Indian Embassy in Ankara has also been monitoring the situation and is providing assistance to the affected passengers.