More discrimination at Paris airport; airline provided one sandwich per person for over-13-hour enforced transit and no food for infant
More discrimination at Paris airport; airline provided one sandwich per person for over-13-hour enforced transit and no food for infant
Flying via Paris? Either give it a miss or arrive prepared with a five-day transit visa to avoid being holed up without help at the airport.u00a0
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Endless wait: Gwyneth Alphonso, one of the passengers who was stranded at the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris for over 13 hours |
Close on the heels of 55 Indians complaining about being discriminated against at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris on May 12, a similar incident at the same airport, came to light on Wednesday. "Passengers ranging from a 15-month-old baby to a 71-year-old man were all treated inhumanely," said Jagdish Patankar (47), MD of a Mumbai-based sci-tech communication company. He was among the 10 stranded at the airport for over 13 hours. They had boarded the Air France flight (AF-025) on May 24 at Dulles Airport, Washington DC.
All that the passengers were apparently provided with during the wait were coupons for one sandwich per person, with no access to the passenger lounges.u00a0u00a0u00a0
Why the delay?
"Our flight developed a technical snag in DC. The three-hour delay resulted in our missing the connecting flight from Paris. We were promised complete care at the Paris airport and were told we would be routed through the next best flight," said Mumbaikar Gwyneth Alphonso (39), who suffers from vertigo, low BP and low blood sugar.
But, the wait, she said, was traumatic. "We were asked to wait near the transfer desk from 11 am to 3 pm.
There was no information forthcoming. Those who suffered the mostu00a0 were Dr P Mathew Varghese (71), a diabetic, Mrs Monga (65) and her 15-month-old grand daughter. "Mathew is a heart patient and diabetic with a hypoglycemic condition largely prevailing. In Mrs Monga's case, the baby was without food," added Alphonso.
Meanwhile, Reji Philip of Cosmos Agencies, a travel agency, suggested, "It's best to be equipped with a five-day transit visa (not required for US and European passport holders). But this has to be obtained prior to the trip."
Inconvenience is regretted: Air FranceIn a statement e-mailed to this paper, Air France said it regrets the inconvenience caused to the 20 passengers, including 11 Indians, especially the problems experienced by them at the airport with the visa formalities imposed by the French police that were beyond the control of Air France.
Air France said it offered to reroute via another city all passengers who were not granted a visa by the French police so that they did not have to spend the night at the airport in Paris. Nine Indians accepted this proposal. While waiting for their flights, Air France provided drinks and sandwiches to them.
The two passengers who were given a visa were accommodated in a hotel by Air France with a flight departure scheduled for the next day. They were provided with dinner and breakfast free of charge. No Indian passenger spent the night at the airport.
