CHENNAI: Many passengers on an Air India Express flight from Kuwait to Chennai on Monday were in for a shock as they could not find their check-in luggage on the conveyor belt. The airline held back their luggage to maintain the air haul weight.
Around 176 passengers were on board the A320 flight of Air India Express that landed in Chennai around 6.30am on Monday. They reached the arrival terminal to pick up their check-in luggage from the conveyor belt, but most of them could not find their luggage.
The upset passengers confronted the airline’s ground staff, and they were told that some of the luggage was left behind in Kuwait to maintain the air haul weight of the flight. Shocked passengers started arguing with the staff, and they were assured that the remaining luggage would reach Chennai on Wednesday and Thursday and would be delivered to the respective passengers’ doorsteps.
An Air India Express spokesperson said, “Due to payload restrictions, some checked-in baggage could not be uplifted on one of the flights operating on the Kuwait–Chennai sector on Monday. We regret the inconvenience caused to our guests. Arrangements have been made to deliver the impacted baggage to the residences of the concerned guests at the earliest, at the airline’s expense.”
However, C Mohan, a retired Air India official, said it was a clear mistake on the part of the airline. “An aircraft cannot always take the full load of passengers, and in aviation, it is called regulated take-off weight (RTOW). It is the duty of the airport manager to plan well ahead to keep the weight within the RTOW limits. Temperature, time of operation and distance to cover (sector) play a vital role in deciding RTOW – the number of passengers and luggage an aircraft can handle. In this case, the airport manager should have restricted the passengers to 120 to 140,” he said.
Mohan said it was not allowed to separate passengers from their check-in luggage. “Passengers will be disappointed when they don’t get their bags. Also, making delivery arrangements will put an additional burden on airlines,” he said.
