Snag lands Boston-bound Mumbaikars in Ireland

A British Airways flight makes safe emergency landing in Shannon, but not before giving passengers, including some Mumbaikars, a fright and botching their plans

For the Mumbai-based Morabias, the flight to Boston to visit their daughter did not culminate in the happy family reunion it was supposed to be. After over nine hours of travel from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport to London Heathrow on Monday, the couple from Ghatkopar, Ramesh Morabia (57) and his wife Dhanalakshmi (57), had taken a connecting British Airways flight, BA-239, from Heathrow to Boston at 9.40 pm (UK time). They were among the 15 or so Indians aboard the airplane that had 300 passengers, all about to embark on what should have been a seven-and-a-quarter hours journey to Boston. But the Boeing 777 they were in had other plans.


Grounded: Ramesh Morabia with his wife Dhanalakshmi at Shannon
International Airport, Ireland. Pic/Avdhoot Walvekar

"A few hours after take off, I felt the plane jerk," said Morabia. "I sensed something was wrong. My fear was confirmed, when our captain revealed that the plane had developed a technical snag. He informed us that we would have to make an emergency landing." The passengers were edgy, but most restrained from panicking. "As the flight attendants briskly cleared away the food and drinks served to the passengers, the plane continued to pull and tug. My wife feared the worst and we started praying," recalled Morabia.

And then there was smoke. Avdhoot Walvekar, a software engineer from Pune and Morabia's co-passenger, said, "My seat had a view of the wings and I could see smoke coming out from one of the blades." The Boeing jolted for almost half an hour. "For a bit, I felt I was travelling on the bumpy roads of Mumbai," Walvekar added. The bumpy ride did get over. The passengers made a safe emergency landing at a secluded airstrip in Shannon in Ireland.

But the ordeal was not over. On Tuesday afternoon in Shannon, the passengers were again brought to the airport.u00a0 Most of them presumed that they would be taken to Boston, but instead they were informed that they would be taken to Heathrow. As a couple from Churchgate, Sanjay Todi (47) and Anita (45), on their way to attend their daughter's convocation at Harvard University, said, "Nupur was to get her degree. It was a big moment and we missed it because we are stuck in Shannon," said Todi.

Airline says
A British Airways spokesperson in India told MiD DAY yesterday, "We apologise to our Boston-bound passengers who were diverted to Shannon airport last night. The diversion was a precautionary measure due to a technical problem, which is now being investigated by our engineers. We accommodated our customers in hotels overnight and are sending a relief aircraft to pick them up this afternoon. They will resume their journey to Boston on flights departing this evening. We sincerely regret the inconvenience to our customers, but we must prioritise the safety of our passengers and crew."