Several passengers aboard a Malaysia Airlines flight from Doha to Kuala Lumpur were stranded between 48 and 72 hours after the aircraft was diverted to Mumbai due to a technical issue last week.
Malaysian Airlines flight MH0165 was diverted to Mumbai on Friday after an engine failure. Describing their ordeal on social media, one passenger said that they had not been flown out on an onward flight until Saturday evening.
The airline in a statement on November 27 said there were delays due to immigration-related challenges, and that it was continuing to arrange for passengers’ onward journey.
“[A total of] 130 of us are being held with our passports taken in Mumbai airport since yesterday. MH 0165 from Doha to Kuala Lumpur had an engine failure on Nov 24 and did an emergency landing in Mumbai at 4 p.m. local time, where we were held at the airport for over eight hours, with some of us trapped in transfer buses as we were not allowed to enter the terminal,” wrote Aubrey Leigh Rogers in a post on Facebook. She added that they were later taken to a hotel, and brought back on Saturday at 12 p.m. but they were still at the airport 12 hours later.
Airline’s statement
The airline said in a statement: “Malaysia Airlines continues to arrange for passengers’ transfer on its airline upon clearance by local authorities.”
It said that “despite proactive efforts to assist passengers in finding alternative travel options on the same day from Mumbai, including arrangements with other carriers, these efforts were unfortunately not successful due to the need to adhere to local immigration policies in Mumbai.”
The airline, on its part, said passengers were provided with accommodation, meals and transportation.
