New Delhi, 15 August 2011: It was a harrowing Independence Day for the passengers of the Air India Express on Monday. They should have landed at the Calicut airport at 5 am on Monday morning but instead have been stranded at the Trivandrum airport for more than 8 hours. Even worse, they would not be able to take off for another 5 hours at least.
The Air India flight from Sharjah could not land at Calicut because of fog. It landed at Thiruvananthapuram instead. The pilot finished his duty hours and was off the duty roster.
The passengers have been waiting in the parking area since. Air India says the stranded passengers only have two options, either take a bus to Calicut or wait for the pilot to return.