Air India stranded 400 fliers at Leh airport, without food or money, from January 26, citing "inclement weather" as the reason. The tourists — mostly trekkers — claimed that the Air India had categorically told them that the pilot of that flight "was not interested in flying". Although the national airline maintained that bad weather caused the delay, it does not change the fact that 400 people from across the country were stranded without any aid or accommodation.

What angered the fliers more was the fact that other airlines were functioning fine, despite the "bad weather". Air India finally arranged three aircrafts to get the passengers to their homes on Wednesday, just hours after this paper reported the plight of those stranded.