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ShareEven after being cleared by the Dutch authorities, the passengers detained in Amsterdam did not have a particularly smooth flight back home. Their flight to Mumbai, on Friday, was delayed by over four hours. And what seemed like an innocuous delay at the airport was in actuality, say the detainees, a result of mass paranoia.
According to Imran Mohammed Yusuf (28), one of the passengers detained on the Mumbai-bound Northwest flight No 42, from Amsterdam, the initial flight delay of two hours was stretched further as the Northwest Airlines crew, allegedly refused to fly with all 12 detainees on board.
"A senior official from Northwest Airlines told me that our flight was further delayed by the crew's refusal to take all 12 of us on board. They wanted to send us on separate flights," he said. The group even agreed to draw up a list of six people, comprising mostly of those suffering from health problems such as diabetes and heart disease, who were to be accommodated on the first available flight out. Eventually, they decided to send all of us together," said Yusuf.
It is believed that a timely intervention by the Indian authorities settled the issue and all 12 passengers were allowed to board the flight together.
Despite DNA's repeated attempts, none of the officials at Northwest Airlines were available for comment.
