Indian Passengers Frustrated After 20-Hour Wait at Kuwait Airport

Kuwait City: Several Indian passengers on a Gulf Air flight bound for Manchester were stranded for nearly 20 hours at Kuwait Airport. The passengers finally resumed their journey on Monday morning. Gulf Air’s flight from Bahrain to Manchester was diverted to Kuwait due to a technical issue.

Flight GF5 departed from Bahrain at 2:05 AM local time on December 1 but had to make an emergency landing in Kuwait at 4:01 AM. Many passengers expressed frustration, claiming they were left stranded at the airport for hours without proper assistance.

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The Indian Embassy in Kuwait intervened and took up the matter with Gulf Air. In a social media post, the embassy stated that its team visited the airport to assist the stranded passengers. The embassy coordinated with the airline, ensuring passengers were accommodated in two airport lounges and provided with food and water.

The Gulf Air flight eventually departed for Manchester at 4:34 AM on Monday. The embassy team remained at the airport until the flight took off.

One passenger, Arzu Singh, alleged on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that Indian passengers were initially left unattended. Speaking to NDTV, she said, “We requested access to a lounge, but airport authorities denied it, stating that Indian and Pakistani passport holders were not eligible. They told us that if we had transit visas, we could have been accommodated in hotels outside the airport. After two hours of struggle, we were finally given access to the lounge.”