Student missed Air India flight by just 10 minutes
AHMEDABAD — Bhoomi Chauhan remembers being angry and frustrated. Bumper-to-bumper traffic had delayed her car journey to Ahmedabad airport — so much so that she missed her Air India flight to London Gatwick by just 10 minutes.
Ms Chauhan, a business administration student who lives in Bristol with her husband, had been visiting western India for a holiday.
The 28-year-old was due to fly home on AI171 on Thursday, which crashed shortly after take-off, killing 241 people on board and more on the ground.
But after arriving at the airport less than an hour before departure, airline staff turned her away.
"We got very angry with our driver and left the airport in frustration," she recalls. "I was very disappointed.
"We left the airport and stood at a place to drink tea and after a while, before leaving... we were talking to the travel agent about how to get a refund for the ticket.
"There, I got a call that the plane had gone down."
Speaking to the BBC's Gujrati service, she adds: "This is totally a miracle for me."
Ms Chauhan says she arrived at the airport at 12:20 PM local time, 10 minutes after boarding was due to commence.
Her digital boarding pass, seen by BBC News, shows her assigned to economy class seat 36G.
But despite having checked in online, she says airline staff would not allow her to complete the process at the airport.
She had traveled from Ankleshwar - 201km (125 miles) south of Ahmedabad - before being held up in Ahmedabad's city center traffic.
Ms Chauhan says: "When I missed the flight, I was dejected. Only thing that I had in mind was, 'If I had started a little early, I would have boarded the plane'.
"I requested airline staff to allow me inside as I am only 10 minutes [late]. I told them that I am the last passenger and so please allow me to board the plane, but they did not allow me." — BBC
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Saudi Gazette
4 days ago
- Saudi Gazette
Indonesia issues highest alert as volcano erupts
JAKARTA — One of Indonesia's most active volcanoes spewed a huge ash cloud more than 11 kilometers into the sky on Tuesday after officials issued the country's highest alert. Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki, erupted at 17:35 local time (10:35 BST), the country's volcanology agency said, sending the vast cloud above the tourist island of Flores. A 7km exclusion zone was in place around the crater of the 1,584m (one mile) high twin-peaked volcano. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. The volcano erupted multiple times in November, killing nine people and forcing thousands to flee. The ash cloud also forced flight cancellations. Geology agency head Muhammad Wafid said no one should carry out any activities within 7km of the eruption, and warned of potential lahar floods — a type of mud or debris flow of volcanic materials — if heavy rain occurs. Residents were also urged to wear face masks to protect themselves from volcanic ash. The National Disaster Mitigation Agency meanwhile said that at least one village had been evacuated, and ash rain was reported in several others outside the exclusion zone. A spokesman called on residents around the volcano "to evacuate to safe locations" as tremors were still being detected, which indicated ongoing volcanic activity. Lewotobi Laki-laki's last eruption was in May, when authorities also raised the level to the most severe. Laki-Laki, which means "man" in Indonesian, is twinned with the calmer but taller 1,703m named Perempuan, the Indonesian word for "woman". — BBC
Saudi Gazette
13-06-2025
- Saudi Gazette
Student missed Air India flight by just 10 minutes
AHMEDABAD — Bhoomi Chauhan remembers being angry and frustrated. Bumper-to-bumper traffic had delayed her car journey to Ahmedabad airport — so much so that she missed her Air India flight to London Gatwick by just 10 minutes. Ms Chauhan, a business administration student who lives in Bristol with her husband, had been visiting western India for a holiday. The 28-year-old was due to fly home on AI171 on Thursday, which crashed shortly after take-off, killing 241 people on board and more on the ground. But after arriving at the airport less than an hour before departure, airline staff turned her away. "We got very angry with our driver and left the airport in frustration," she recalls. "I was very disappointed. "We left the airport and stood at a place to drink tea and after a while, before leaving... we were talking to the travel agent about how to get a refund for the ticket. "There, I got a call that the plane had gone down." Speaking to the BBC's Gujrati service, she adds: "This is totally a miracle for me." Ms Chauhan says she arrived at the airport at 12:20 PM local time, 10 minutes after boarding was due to commence. Her digital boarding pass, seen by BBC News, shows her assigned to economy class seat 36G. But despite having checked in online, she says airline staff would not allow her to complete the process at the airport. She had traveled from Ankleshwar - 201km (125 miles) south of Ahmedabad - before being held up in Ahmedabad's city center traffic. Ms Chauhan says: "When I missed the flight, I was dejected. Only thing that I had in mind was, 'If I had started a little early, I would have boarded the plane'. "I requested airline staff to allow me inside as I am only 10 minutes [late]. I told them that I am the last passenger and so please allow me to board the plane, but they did not allow me." — BBC
Al Arabiya
13-06-2025
- Al Arabiya
Air India flight makes emergency landing in Thailand after bomb threat
An Air India flight from the Thai island of Phuket headed to Delhi requested an emergency landing on Friday after a bomb threat was received on board, Phuket's airport said, Flight AI 379 had landed and the airport was proceeding with emergency plans, an official told Reuters.
