Passengers tell tale of horror, chaos

Kozhikode

Scores of passengers have been stranded in the Calicut International airport and its premises with little information regarding their scheduled flights and replacements, after the facility was temporarily shut down following the incident.

Passengers bound to Bahrain and other GCC countries too were left wondering, without any official communication regarding the flight schedule. Passengers, who were supposed to board an Etihad flight last night from Calicut to Abudhabhi and then fly a connection from there to Bahrain, were left with no option but to check in at hotels nearby for the night, after information counters were shut down at the airport.

Sudhi Nath, a music teacher in Ajmal, was supposed return to Dubai on an Air India Express scheduled to be departed from 1.10 am today. “When we reached the Airport by around 11 pm, it was already surrounded by the local police force,” said Nath.

“We were informed about the death of one man and were told it was an accident. Attempts to clear runways were already underway but the fire force staff kept on blocking the way as soon as it was cleared killing our last hopes,” he recollected. 

Sudhi added that, soon after, rioters gathered around the airport tried to attack some passengers. “They were beating and pelting stones at all those they saw. Some even barged into the crowd attacking passengers and their relatives,” he said.

The local policemen cleared passengers from the area. “We were told they are holding a meeting to discuss the situation at 4.50 am in the morning and further decisions will be made thereafter,” he added.

“Some of the passengers, whose flights were set to depart by 8 pm last night, are still stranded at the airport,” said Sudhi.

Another passenger, Parasanth Krishnan, said that the passengers were yet to receive proper communication from the authorities. “We were first told that the flight would be delayed by an hour. However, most were directed to return, as the scenes at the airport remained chaotic. The CISF men who took the control of the facility are checking even the toilets for their rivals, giving a hard time for the crowd,” he said.

Prasanth added that they would lose the ticket fare even though they cancel the tickets, as it was not a problem from the part of the airlines. Only the tax will be refunded to the passengers who missed their flights.