Ex-SBI Chief & Others Stranded at Azerbaijan Airport for 19 Hours

Arundhati Bhattacharya was among dozens stranded at the airport in Baku after a British Airways flight was diverted.

Former SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya was among dozens of Indians who were stranded at the airport in Baku, Azerbaijan for over 19 hours after British Airways flight BA198 was diverted from its London destination, Times of India reported.

The flight, from Mumbai to London, was scheduled to leave at 1 pm on Monday, 11 December. It was first delayed to after 5 PM, following snow in London. Once the flight took off, it was diverted after an acrid smell, and smoke, was detected from the aircraft’s first class gallery.

In a statement, British Airways reportedly said: "We apologise to our customers for the delay to their travels following a suspected technical issue with a flight from Mumbai to London. Engineers in Baku are checking the aircraft."

We fully appreciate how frustrating this experience has been, and have apologised to our customers for the very long delay to their flight. We provided refreshments, and did our best to make sure our customers were comfortable overnight during the delay. The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our priority.

British Airways Statement

However, a stranded passenger, Mukesh Talreja, told Times of India that he wasn’t provided access to his baggage, and medication which he needed for diabetes, blood pressure, and thyroid problems.

Talreja added, "All the lights and screens went off after four hours into the flight. The seat controls stopped working and an announcement was made about an emergency landing," he said.

He added that passengers were given only omelettes for breakfast and could not leave the airport as they were denied short-term visas and most officials there did not speak English.

Bhattacharya, who retired in October 2017 as chairman of the State Bank of India told the daily that the flight landed around 9 pm (Baku time). Although the engineers fixed the damage, she said, the flight could not take off as the crew had completed 12 hours of duty. She added that passengers were forced to sleep on the carpet at the airport lounge because none of them were allowed to leave the airport.

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