Being on a plane that circled for 3.5 hrs wasn't the ordeal for fliers from Chennai. It was what came after

CHENNAI: It was pure panic for three hours and twenty-five minutes. When you are thousands of feet above ground and the snag-hit flight that you are on is circling for that long, there is little that you can do other than dealing with alternating emotions of panic and hope. And then they finally landed. For the dozens of passengers who were on that flight on November 21, the panic ended when the aircraft safely touched down. That is when the ordeal started.

Among the 131 fliers were a 12-member group from Chennai who got on the Malaysia Airlines flight from here to Kuala Lumpur enroute to Bali, Indonesia, for a six-day break. According to Sanket Golechha, who was travelling on that flight with his family and friends, everything went smoothly and the flight took off at 12.25 am as scheduled.

A little later, however, they were told that the flight was returning to Chennai after developing a snag. Though it had just taken off, the aircraft had to circle for about an hour to burn the fuel – a procedure that pilots follow to reduce the risk in the event of a mishap while landing. Panic set in then, Sanket recalled. Then they were informed that they would fly for some more time to reduce the fuel. More panic followed.

It all ended when the flight safely landed by 3 am and the fliers let out a collective sigh of relief. They were asked to remain on the plane while the snag was being attended to. It is usually done when the issue is relatively simple, and would save them time de-boarding the passengers and boarding them yet again. But the issue was more complicated than initially expected, and they were deplaned at 4.45 am on the promise of departure at the earliest possible time.

While snags are not unusual and delays are part of airline operations, what made the fliers angry was the ordeal they allegedly had to go through after that. According to Sanket, they had to request multiple times to get even a bottle of water, and there was no food.

After getting off the aircraft, there was no one from the airline to guide the passengers to the next step. After waiting at the airport for a long time, some of the passengers got testy, and the situation worsened allegedly after they were sent from one airline staff to another – six of them at final count. They received the luggage only at 6.45 am, and had to argue and even shout at the staffers before finally being given a booking on an alternative flight.

The flight on which 19 passengers, including Sanket, were accommodated was at 10.10 am. They had to go through the cumbersome procedures of security, immigration, etc. all over again. The first meal that they had had on that day was on that flight at 11 am, he said. “Luckily, we are all young…but there were a lot of small kids, and elderly passengers who didn't get even wheelchairs,” he said.

The delay had a cascading effect on their plan, Sanket said. “We lost an entire day, and accommodations on which we shelled out Rs 70,000 and dining reservations, taxi bookings, etc. worth Rs 50,000 were wasted. On top of that was the hassle to coordinate the rest of the trip,” he claimed.

Furious at Malaysia Airlines for not extending basic assistance like faster check-in and immigration, or even water or meal, the group of friends is considering various options before them to hold it accountable.

When contacted, the spokesperson from the airlines said the flight had to be cancelled shortly after take-off due to a technical issue. According to her, all passengers were provided hotel accommodation, and were subsequently reallocated to other Malaysia Airlines flights or alternative carriers.

“Malaysia Airlines deeply regrets the inconvenience and disruptions to our passengers’ travel plans. Safety remains the number one priority to Malaysia Airlines,” she said.