Bengaluru: A five-day tour to Abu Dhabi turned into a nightmare for 16 Indians, as the ground staff of Etihad Airways at the Abu Dhabi International Airport, apparently from Pakistan, allegedly made racist comments against these tourists and also denied one of them a boarding pass on a confirmed ticket.

Mr Mirza Ismail, 56, an advocate from Davanagere, was among those who were allegedly ill-treated by the airline staff. He told Deccan Chronicle, “I had opted for a package tour along with my five friends and their families from May 20 to May 25, and the tickets were confirmed. We went to the UAE and had a good time. But while returning on May 25, we had a terrible experience at the Abu Dhabi International Airport.”

He said, “When we approached the airline ground staff all of us were given the boarding passes, except my 17-year-old son. I tried to enquire with the staff, but I was made to wait for over two hours without any response. When I approached the desk again, the staff told me that my son cannot board the flight as all the seats are occupied,” he said.

“I was not convinced with their vague response and tried to reason with them. But two workers, Saalim and Sabha, both Pakistan nationals, threatened us and commented, ‘Indians are stupid and they just cannot understand any language. We will get you arrested and detained in Abu Dhabi if you don’t agree to our terms’,” alleged Mr Ismail.

After much persuasion, the airline reportedly informed the family that their son can be accommodated in some other flight, but only after 24 hours. Left with no option, Mr Ismail let his son fly, while opting himself to board the next flight the next day.

“When I told the staff that I don’t have any place to go, they promised an accommodation at a nearby hotel. But to my shock, the hotel was nearly 50 km away from the airport. I reached there around 4.30 am, and only then I realised that I was not the only victim but other Indians too had been cheated by the Airline staff. I suspect that there it is a nexus between the staff and the hotel, as I was made to pay for the accommodation. The hotel did not provide any facility. They did not even give me a mobile charger, though I requested them a number of times and pleaded that I had to get in touch with my family in India. Around 6.30 am on May 26, I was brought to the Abu Dhabi Airport in a bus and flew back to Bengaluru in a connecting flight with Spicejet via Mumbai,” he added.

No response from airline

Taking a legal course of action, the victim’s associate issued a legal notice to Etihad Airways through a social networking site. The airline authorities replied saying that they will look into the matter. But even a week after the reply, no updates have been made about the action taken.