Lufthansa 'takes Indian customers for granted', Grammy winner Ricky Kej says after getting stuck in Istanbul for 31 hours

Bengaluru-bound Lufthansa flight diverted to Istanbul: The flight made an emergency landing at the Istanbul Airport due to an onboard medical emergency, leaving over 300 passengers stranded in Turkey.

Image: Twitter

A Frankfurt-Bengaluru Lufthansa flight that took off from Frankfurt, Germany on October 18, 2022 made an emergency landing in Istanbul, Turkey due to an on-board medical emergency. While the flight was supposed to take off after deboarding the passenger with the emergency and completion of some technical processes, the passengers got stuck at the Istanbul International Airport for over 31 hours. Moreover, the passengers on the flight have complained of poor efforts from the crew for their support. Among the passengers is Ricky Kej, Grammy winning music director from India.

He tweeted "Can't believe how lufthansa takes Indian customers for granted. My Frnkfurt-Blore flight landed last evening 7pm in Istanbul for medical emergency. 17 hours later - no hotel, no staff, no explanation, 300 passengers stranded, no info whatsoever." He tweeted this on October 19 in the afternoon. Little did he knew, he will be stuck for more than 30 hours. 

27 hours -still stranded in Istanbul Airport. @lufthansa airline obviously suffering from existential Crisis. Being called Racists, complacent, incapable, indifferent, evil, while 380 passengers - mainly Indian, are treated as homeless. No hotel, no lounge, no access to luggage. pic.twitter.com/XFJBfUKvdq — Ricky Kej (@rickykej) October 19, 2022

Later, he tweeted a barrage of updates about the wait at the airport in Turkey. His last tweet stated "Over 31 hours now... Still stranded in Istanbul. Thanks to the utter disregard of Indian passengers by lufthansa. Still not even a statement, or any info from them. Zero accountability. Shows how much they care. Two nights now without a bed, no access to luggage, etc.."

Lufthansa’s India-bound flight (LH 754) took off from Frankfurt, Germany on Tuesday at 1:05 PM for Bangalore with an estimated arrival time of 1:25 AM, Wednesday. However, the aircraft registered a medical emergency, while it was over the Black Sea in Turkey’s airspace. Resultantly, the aeroplane made an emergency landing in Istanbul at 2 PM.

The exercise caused a delay of more than 30 hours, and therefore, passengers are now expected to reach their destination - Bangalore, India, on Thursday morning. Passengers have also registered criticism for carelessness and failing to address their concerns. 

The airline, on the other hand, has confirmed the emergency landing for the reason mentioned above. Also, it said in a statement, “For safety reasons, the oxygen cylinders used to treat the medical emergency must be replaced before continuing the flight. Unfortunately, this (took) more time than originally expected. The flight continuation from Istanbul to Bangalore is now scheduled for 8 pm local time Wednesday (October 19). Lufthansa deeply regrets the circumstances and is doing everything to minimise the inconveniences for its passengers."