20 take road trip from Pune to Hyderabad after flight cancelled last moment

The airline announced the flight was cancelled when the passengers were waiting at the boarding gate at the Pune airport

The end moment cancellation of Alliance Air 9I868 Pune-Hyderabad flight at 11pm on Friday led 20 travellers to take the roadway to reach Hyderabad as no alternative flight was scheduled by the airline.

A few travellers, who were locals from Pune, returned to their homes after the flight got cacelled. (Representative Image)

“Around 2.30am, we 20 decided to go by road to Hyderabad as the airline had not arranged an alternative flight and the next fight was only available at Saturday night and as most of us had important work scheduled for Saturday, we had no option but travel by road,” said Sunil Reddy over phone while on his way to Hyderabad.

The 20 passengers arranged for three private cars to start the journey to Hyderabad.

“There was no assistance provided by Alliance Air and it was a very pathetic situation. The flight was supposed to depart at 9.30pm when we were told that it was delayed by 40 minutes. So around 10.30pm, all the passengers were at the boarding gate for about an hour and at 11.30 they (airline staff) announced that the flight was cancelled and we could collect our luggage,” said Reddy.

Alliance Air did not respond to multiple calls and messages. It hasn’t provided any official statement on the issue of cancellation so far.

“The airline was also not showing confidence about the next day’s (Saturday) flight. We asked them for accommodation for elderly people but the staff said they had no provision for it. Most of us had checked-in by 7.30pm. We were stuck at the airport for five to six hours,” said Reddy.

A few travellers, who were locals from Pune, returned to their homes.

“The airlines did not provide any assistance to go to Mumbai so we can get a flight from Mumbai but Alliance Air staff denied everything,” alleged Reddy.

Another flyer A Kaushik over the phone said, “The airline has still not given proper guidelines on refunds. It was a terrible experience. We are spending the same amount to come via road. The passengers should have been given better treatment by the airline.”