PASSENGERS on Virgin Atlantic flight VS358 from London Heathrow to Mumbai faced significant delays—now over 40 hours—after the aircraft was diverted to Turkey due to a medical emergency, followed by technical inspections.
Passengers have criticised the airline for leaving them in “awful” conditions for two days at an airport with limited facilities.
Stranded passengers and their family members have turned to social media to highlight the issues they are facing.
Many reported that only one toilet was available over 250 passengers while they waited at the airport. A passenger told news agency PTI that no blankets were provided despite the single-digit temperatures.
The flight departed from London Heathrow at 11:40am BST on 2 April and was scheduled to arrive in Mumbai at 8:10pm BST. However, the flight made an unscheduled landing at Diyarbakır Airport in Turkey at around 5:00pm BST due to a medical emergency on board.
Responding to an Eastern Eye query about the situation, a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said the flight landed at Diyarbakır Airport in Turkey at 15:55 UTC on 2 April, where "a severely unwell passenger left the plane and was assisted by local medical authorities."
Following the medical diversion, the aircraft underwent technical inspections, leading to the cancellation of the flight.
The spokesperson stated, "The safety and security of our customers and crew remains our highest priority, and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused."
They added that engineers were continuing their assessments and that "we are actively exploring all options, including, if required, an alternative aircraft into a nearby airport to ensure customers reach Mumbai on Friday."
Virgin Atlantic confirmed that affected passengers were provided with overnight hotel accommodation and refreshments while awaiting further updates.
"We will keep all customers informed as soon as new updates become available," the airline said.
Passengers seeking information on compensation and expense reimbursements were directed to Virgin Atlantic’s website: help.virginatlantic.com.
Anjana Vasan
Romesh Ranganathan
The North Pennines may experience heavy snowfallWXCharts
Jasvir Singh CBE, MPs Deirdre Costigan, Catherine West, Sarah Coombes, Kanishka Narayan, councillor Sunny Brar and Vidhya Alakeson, deputy chief of staff at 10 Downing Street, at a Holi celebration last Monday (24)