An Ahmedabad-bound SpiceJet plane made a landing under emergency conditions in Mumbai following failure of its air conditioning system which, many passengers said, caused discomfort and sickness.
"There was some problem in the functioning of the air conditioning unit and passengers were feeling uneasy. Hence, the aircraft had to make an emergency landing. All passengers are safe," airport sources said.
The aircraft, with 170 passengers, had taken off from Goa for Ahmedabad on Monday. Passengers staged a protest at the airport complaining of negligence on part of the airlines.
Vivek Aggarwal, a passenger, said, "The AC was not working and there was suffocation inside the aircraft. The airhostesses said there was nothing that they could do about it. They said once the flight takes off, the AC will start working."
Another traveller said, "As soon as we got onboard, people started feeling quite hot and an uncomfortable atmosphere developed because the AC was not on. The fans were off and we told the crew about it.
"Nothing worked out and it was difficult to sit in the plane for a longer duration," he complained even as several other passengers said it was a "very bad" and a "terrible experience" that made them "sick".
Ronak Mehta, who was onbroad, alleged that there was no first aid material in the aircraft and passengers had no water to drink.
One of the travellers said that after the plane landed, a passenger was taken to Nanavati Hospital in an ambulance.
A SpiceJet spokesperson claimed in a statement that "There was a medical emergency on flight SG 806 heading to Ahmedabad and that medical assistance had been provided to a passenger on landing." PTI
