Air India's San Francisco-Bengaluru Flight Lands Without Luggage, Passengers Left in Chaos

Bengaluru: In utter shock, the passengers of Air India flight from San Francisco to Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), were left frustrated and irritated after they were informed that their checked-in baggage was left behind at the San Francisco Airport. The passengers, who arrived at Kempegowda International Airport at around 3:20 am on Air India’s direct flight from San Francisco, were told that they landed at the Bengaluru Airport with their checked-in baggage, after they questioned the airline’s staff. The passengers protested against the airline staff members’ carelessness, however they eventually had to leave the airport with only their cabin baggage.

According to the passengers of Air India flight AI 176, they were not informed that they had landed at the Bengaluru Airport without baggage earlier, however, they discovered the issue about an hour after reaching Terminal 2, where they waited at the baggage carousel.

Passengers Blame Air India Staff Members' Careless Behaviour

Among the passengers who were left unattended without their baggage included old age persons, women, infants and young children.

After the incident, the miffed passengers broke into arguments at the airline counter, with one woman refusing to leave the airport without her luggage.

One of the passengers landed at the Bengaluru airport stated, “A significant number of passengers did not receive their luggage. We hired a porter and waited for nearly 40 minutes before realizing something was amiss. At the AI counter, we found other passengers also inquiring about their luggage, and only then did we learn it hadn’t been loaded onto the flight.”

Earlier, the Ministry of Civil Aviation had issued a show-cause notice to Air India for a 20-hour delay on a Delhi to San Francisco flight, where passengers were seated without air conditioning inside the flight. Several passengers reportedly fell ill due to the extreme temperature.