Kuwait City, Kuwait

The 13-hour horrific ordeal of nearly 60 Indian passengers, who were stranded in Kuwait, came to an end as a Gulf Air flight to Manchester finally departed at 4:34 am (local time) on Monday (Dec 2).

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Confirming the departure of the flight, the Embassy of India in a post on X said, "Embassy team was on the ground till the flight departed."

The Indian passengers, who were travelling from Mumbai to Manchester, had to face severe problems after the airlines unexpectedly diverted their flight to Kuwait.

Passengers complain about no assistance in Kuwait

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As per the media reports, the passengers were stranded at the airport and were not provided food, accommodation or basic assistance.

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In a video shared on the social media platform, passengers were seen arguing with the airport authorities regarding the delay and appeared frustrated after hearing the response of the airline.

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Some passengers also accused Gulf Air of providing accommodation to passengers who were from the UK, the US and the European Union and neglecting the Indian travellers.

One of the stranded passengers, Arzoo Singh claimed that they were not able to leave the airport because they did not have a transit visa. 

When passengers started sharing about the ordeal on social media, the situation escalated and the Indian Embassy in Kuwait intervened.

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"After we raised the issue on social media, senior officials from the Indian Embassy in Kuwait reached out to the Indian passengers stuck at the airport," said Arzoo Singh, while speaking to news agency ANI.

Meanwhile, another passenger Shivansh wrote on X, "Reading Why Bharat Matters while getting stuck in Kuwait without any help.

"All British passport holders got their hotels sorted with on-arrival visas, while Indian passport holders have been left stranded without any info, food, or any kind of help. Please help and provide us with a visa so that at least we can get a hotel and wait for the next flight."

According to the reports, the airlines made the announcement of diversion just 20 minutes before they landed in Kuwait. 

As the situation escalated, the Indian Embassy connected with the airlines and confirmed that the Gulf Air flight had been rescheduled for Manchester at 3:30 am on December 2.

(With inputs from agencies)