Chennai: Private carrier Indigo on Wednesday said its operated flight from Rajahmundry to Tirupati (both in Andhra Pradesh) on December 14 was diverted to Bengaluru “due to technical reasons” and said no charges were collected from the passengers who decided to disembark in the Karnataka capital.
On Tuesday, passengers, including some legislators, of the Indigo flight that was supposed to land in Tirupati had a harrowing experience after it took a detour and landed in Bengaluru.
The airlines allegedly demanded each passenger to pay Rs 5,000 to let them disembark but ultimately gave up after stiff resistance from the travellers, which included ruling YSR Congress MLA RK Roja.
“IndiGo flight 6E 7265 flying from Rajahmundry to Tirupati was diverted to Bangalore due to technical reasons. The passengers were served refreshments on board and the flight was released after maintenance checks. Some passengers wished to offload from the aircraft and were accommodated on the next available flight or escorted out of the airport as per their request.”
“No charges were collected from the passengers who decided to self offload at Bangalore airport,” the airline said in a statement.
Veteran TDP leader and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Yanamala Ramakrishnudu and YSRC MLA Jogeswara Rao were among the 70 passengers aboard the flight.
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