When a London-Mumbai 'nonstop' took 53 hours after a diversion to Turkiye

NEW DELHI: Mumbai-London nonstop takes usually nine hours. But for 265 passengers of Virgin Atlantic’s VS 358, it proved to be a 53-hour journey with a 44-hour stopover in , when they land in Mumbai on Friday night. “We landed just after 9 pm and are just glad to be back home finally,” a relieved Sagar Kochhar told TOI.

These passengers had taken off from London Heathrow on Wednesday at 11.40 am local time (4.10 pm IST) but what was to be a nonstop proved to be an over 50-hour ordeal. Their aircraft first had to divert to Turkiye's Diyarbakir Airport due to a medical emergency and then the Airbus A350 required a detailed inspection before it could be cleared to take off for Mumbai.

Passengers then had to spend almost a day at the small airport, sleeping on chairs or on the floor. The Indian Embassy in Turkiye also came to the aid of the stranded flyers. “Embassy has been constantly pursuing the matter relating to the emergency landing of Virgin Atlantic flight from London to Mumbai at Diyarbakir Airport in Turkiye. Thanks to our efforts, all stranded 99 Indian passengers were issued temporary visas (Thursday-Friday) night. Hotel accommodation, meals and medical assistance provided by authorities. The airline is arranging a flight number VS-1358, which is departing at 12 pm from Diyarbakir Airport,” the embassy said on X (former Twitter).

After this intervention and passengers taking to social media to highlight their plight did the airline arrange hotels for them.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “We’re sorry that Virgin Atlantic flight VS358 from London Heathrow to Mumbai on April 2 was disrupted following an urgent medical diversion to Diyarbakir Airport in Turkiye. Due to the nature of the landing, the aircraft required extensive technical inspection before the aircraft was cleared to operate. The safety and security of our customers and crew remains our highest priority, and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused and prolonged delay.”

“Our customers were provided with overnight hotel accommodation on Thursday evening ahead of their onward journey on Friday. With all necessary technical approvals now secured, the plane departed Diyarbakir Airport at 1 pm local time on Friday, operating as flight VS1358.”