‘Devastating’: UK mourns loss of lives in Air India plane crash

The flight that took off from Ahmedabad in Gujarat at 1.38pm on Thursday only to crash seconds later, had 53 British nationals on board.

The UK government termed the crash London-bound Air India flight, with 242 people on board, “devastating”, with UK foreign secretary David Lammy announcing that a crisis team will be created in New Delhi and London to support British nationals and their families who have been affected by the crash.

The Ahmedabad-London Air India service was increased from three to five weekly flights few months ago. (AP)

The flight that took off from Ahmedabad in Gujarat at 1.38pm on Thursday only to crash seconds later, had 53 British nationals on board.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “The scenes emerging of a London-bound plane carrying many British nationals crashing in the Indian city of Ahmedabad are devastating. I am being updated as the situation develops and my thoughts are with the passengers and their families at this deeply distressing time.”

Few months ago, the Ahmedabad-London Air India service was increased from three to five weekly flights due to increased demand. Around 800,000 British nationals of Gujarati origin, along with their relatives and friends, constitute a large chunk of Indians who travel frequently between India and the United Kingdom.

The Gatwick-bound flight which crashed on Thursday was scheduled to land at Gatwick Airport at 6.25pm (UK time).

On the UK side, the timing was perfect. Travellers would have exited the airport –– after clearing immigration and collecting their baggage –– by 8pm and hit the roads with the summer sun still out, and the office traffic long gone. The flight was also popular because the fatigue from being airborne for over nine hours would be taken care of by reaching home at bedtime –– with all of them ready to face the next day with their body clocks in sync with British Summer Time (BST).

That was not to be for the 242 people on board Thursday’s flight.

The passenger manifest for the Gatwick-bound flight showed that the majority were Indian nationals, signifying that the travellers were either coming on a holiday or visiting friends. Many families on board had members with both Indian and British passports –– suggesting that they may have only recently moved to the UK.

On seat 15J was Inayatali Saiyed, a British national, travelling with his wife and two kids. Among the British nationals were wellness guru Jamie Meek and his husband Fiongal Greenlaw. The couple was returning from a holiday in India and had shared the now-widely circulated video of the two at the airport on social media before the fight took off.

Also on the flight were sisters Heer and Dheer Baxi who had flown from London to Ahmedabad to meet their grandmother. Meanwhile, Pratik Joshi, a software professional, had returned to India to bring back his wife Dr Komi Vyas and their three kids for a permanent move to London.

Gareth Thomas, the Labour Member of Parliament from Harrow West –– which has a large Gujarati Indian population, urged his constituents to approach his office if any member of the community was affected by the tragedy. Thomas, who is the minister for services, small businesses, and exports, said, “The UK government is working closely with Indian authorities to urgently offer support to those involved. It is a very grim day and it will be particularly felt in my constituency who have very strong connections with people of Gujarat.”

Lammy announced that a crisis team will be created in New Delhi and London to support British nationals and their families who have been affected by the crash.

Conservative MP Bob Blackman, who represents Harrow East, said: “My thoughts are with the family and loved ones after the dreadful news of a passenger plane crash in Ahmedabad.” Similarly, former UK PM Rishi Sunak expressed his condolences and said he and his wife Akshata were deeply “shocked” and “distressed” by the crash.

In light of the crash, the Indian High Commission in London cancelled the reception for the Indian women’s hockey team, and has opened a dedicated helpline for emergency visa related queries for the next of kin and relatives of any passengers who were on the flight.

Concerns regarding the Air India flight were raised in the past by British Indians. Shivani Raja, the Indian-origin Conservative MP from Leicester East told HT that she would demand answers from Air India and India’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), especially, as she pointed out that she had received complaints from constituents in the past about long delays on the same flight.

“I personally had experience of delays due to certain malfunctions on this specific flight.” she said. “I am not trying to add to any speculation, but one of my close family members’ flight was delayed for over 24 hours due to an engine malfunction and that was merely a month ago.”

Meanwhile, operations at London Gatwick Airport continued as normal and it is liaising closely with Air India, while a reception centre for relatives is being set up