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Yatris make Srinagar-bound plane ‘hostage’ at IGI Airport

Kashmir Times. Dated: 7/2/2016 12:06:45 AM

NEW DELHI, July 1(Agencies): Noisy scenes were created at Indira Ghandhi International Airport New Delhi early Friday morning when over a dozen Amarnath Yatris took a Srinagar bound plane “hostage”.
Sources while narrating the ordeal said that a Go Air plane was to take off from New Delhi Airport at 5.45 AM this morning, however, the plane was delayed by almost an hour given the on-board 14 Yatris who started a fight with plane crew. The plane was carrying 180 passengers to Srinagar.
“We boarded G8-109 Go Air flight and all pre-flight take off requirements like seat belt were done and the team crew announced that the flight will take of now,” sources said. “But, all of a sudden, some 14 Yatris, who were singing Bum Bum Bola till now, stood and asked the flight crew to stop the plane.”
“All of us were taken aback as what happened,” sources said. “On being asked as what had happened, the Yatris revealed that two of their group members were waiting at the IGI airport.”
Sources revealed that the two Yatris were part of 16 Srinagar bound Amarnath Yatris. However, these two Yatris had lost their Boarding passes. “It was not possible for the Airport staff and security officials to let them board the plane,” the sources added.
“The Yatris started fight with the flight crew forcing the pilots to call ground staff,” sources added, “the plane was stopped and Ground Staff Manager came in and tried to pacify and make understand the Yatris need of Boarding Pass to board the flight, however, they failed.”
As the situation seemed getting out of control thus delaying the time in take-off of the flight, the other passengers “started getting down from the flight”. “The flight has been taken hostage by a few people,” sources quoted some passengers as having said.
But later, the Ground Staff called CSIF which took custody of all the fourteen Yatris. “Then Ground Staff again came inside the plane, identified and verified the baggage of the Yatris and evicted it from the plane,” sources said.
It took almost an hour that the Go Air flight finally took off from the Union capital for J&K’s summer capital.
When contacted, Go Air officials, however, said, “the flight was delayed because there was some problem with Srinagar airport runway given the tyre burst of a plane yesterday afternoon.”