Air India cancels flight in Leh, 400 flyers stranded without money or food

Several of those stranded had gone on the Chadar trek in Leh a popular location for adventure loversOver 400 flyers from across the country are allegedly being held to ransom at Leh airport by inclement weather since January 26 The tourists many of whom had gone for the Chadar trek in Ladakh however allege that Air India which cancelled their flights owing to bad weather has left them stranded at the airport without access to any money or foodSome of the exasperated passengers claimed that the airline categorically told them that the pilot of the flight that was supposed to set off from Delhi on January 26 was not interested in flying Air India AI has refuted this and blamed the weather in Leh Most of the cancelled services are of flight AI446Also Read Mumbai Man calls in hijack situation after AI leaves passengers stranded for 7 hoursNikhita ChopraWhile AIs claim of inclement weather may be true for Tuesdays cancellation there is no explanation for why the passengers have been stranded since January 26 According to data available on the flight tracking site flightstats planes landed from Delhi and Chandigarh on Saturday Sunday and MondayThe situation is ridiculous The airport staff is extremely rude and is not offering satisfactory answers There are people who dont even have money to buy food Surya Mishra 34 a resident of Bhubaneshwar who was to return on Monday told midday from LehHorrifying ordealLast evening tempers flew at the airport as the stranded passengers began to protest against Air India The trek was arduous We havent bathed or eaten since January 26 The airline staff just doesnt seem to care We have to beg for services we paid for alleged Mumbaikar Nikhita Chopra 25 who works as a freelance model and dancer and was expected to return home on January 29 The staff needs to get its act together How can one go by the mood of a pilot Chopra said most passengers have run out of moneyfrom left Mumbai resident Akhil Doiphode claimed that AI arranged for a special plane for Army officials while Surya Mishra of Bhubaneshwar said the AI staff has been discourteous and isnrsquot offering satisfactory answers to the stranded flyersDelhibased Surbhit Kant Dixit director of Hindustan Motorcycling Company whose flight was scheduled for January 31 alleged that AIs general manager R Tsering brusquely spoke from Delhi to some flyers and told them not to waste his time We found out that Air India had been given permission to landRead Story AI flight makes emergency landing 300 stranded for 5 hoursMost flyers havent been able to go back to their hotels in Leh after the temperature dropped drastically Some who succeeded in getting back to their hotels have been forced to shack up with around eight in each roomOther airlines had Plan BAbhishek Singh who landed in Mumbai with 136 other passengers on a Jet Airways plane last night said other airlines worked tirelessly to accommodate those stranded in extra flights Now only Air India passengers have been left behindMumbai resident Akhil Doiphode 32 who was to return from Leh on January 29 claimed that AI arranged for a special plane for Army officials How was that flights pilot ready to fly but not ours He said the Prime Ministers Office when approached for help directed those stranded to seek help from the ministry of civil aviation The ministry assured us help but nothing has come of it Some 24 GoAir passengers who too had been stranded at Leh returned home last night6No of days since they have been stranded