Muscat: In an apparent act of irresponsibility, Air India Express has caused severe distress to passengers from Dubai. Many travellers who departed for Kochi on Friday evening are still stranded in Muscat. Apart from that 14 passengers who arrived in Kochi later in the evening have yet to receive their luggage back home.

The passengers on flight IX 436, which took off from Dubai to Kochi at 5 pm on Friday, are enduring severe hardship. About an hour and a half after departure, the plane was forced to return to Muscat airport due to a technical fault. Women and children among the travellers spent the night on Friday and the day on Saturday between the airport and hotels. Some of them were en route to attend funerals and wedding ceremonies.

According to passenger Anto Joseph, after the travellers protested, 14 people were flown from Muscat to Kochi, while a few others were sent to Thiruvananthapuram on a different flight. However, their luggage has still not arrived back home. The passengers are left uncertain about the whereabouts of the belongings they had purchased for their loved ones.

Passengers paid up to Rs 20,000 for their tickets from Dubai to Kochi. They accuse Air India Express of leaving them stranded through irresponsible conduct.