Day after offloading students from its US-bound flight, Air India offers full refund

Hyderabad: A day after Air India stopped 19 Indian students from boarding its flight to San Francisco, the government-run airline announced to refund the entire ticket cost to these students.

The Indian students were stopped from boarding the flight after being informed by US authorities that the two universities to which they had been admitted were under "scrutiny".

A statement issued by the national carrier cited the plight of 14 students who had earlier travelled on Air India flights to San Francisco to the same universities but were deported.

Air India said it received word on December 19, 2015 from the US Customs and Border Protection agency that two universities, Silicon Valley in San Jose, California and North Western Polytechnic College in Fremont, California are under scrutiny. 

The communication from the agency further stated that students who arrived into San Francisco were not allowed to enter the US and were deported back to India, Air India said.