Plane passengers 'held to ransom' and forced into £20,000 whip-round for fuel



Authorities were today seeking reassurances from an airline after passengers claimed they were forced into stumping up the money to fund the remainder of their trip back to Britain.

Travellers said they were 'held to ransom' for six hours on the tarmac in Vienna after a flight with Austrian airline Comtel Air from Amritsar in India stopped to refuel.

They told how they had to hand over £20,000 to pay for the rest of the journey.

Angry: Passengers said they were on the tarmac in Vienna for six hours

More than 180 passengers, who should have arrived back in Birmingham on Saturday, were said to have finally arrived on Tuesday night.

Dalvinder Batra, from Oldbury, told the Birmingham Mail : 'It is absolutely disgusting. There are still people stuck out there.'

Ranbir Dehal, from Wolverhampton, said: 'We were escorted to the cash point to take money out. They said there was a deficit of nearly 24,000 euros and they gave us receipts.'

Reena Rindi, who was aboard with her two-year-old daughter, told Channel 4 News: 'We wanted to go home. We'd been stranded for about three to four days. Who was going to take us home?'

'Held to ransom': Passengers told how they were forced to hand over £20,000 to pay for the rest of the journey

She said passengers agreed to pay so they could fly to Birmingham and added: 'We all got together, took our money out of purses - £130. The children under two went free.

'If we didn't have the money they were making us go one by one outside in Vienna to get the cash out.'

Comtel Air's director of passenger services Bhunpinder Kandra told the Press Association: 'I have heard what happened, it shouldn't have happened, and I will investigate why it happened. The people who had to pay the money will receive a refund.'

Asked if the company was going bust, he said: 'There is no chance of that. Comtel is a very strong company, 16 years in Vienna.'

A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said: 'It is an Austrian airline, so we have no direct jurisdiction over it.

'We are looking to see if people who bought their holiday in Britain bought it through an ATOL-licensed tour operator. If they did, that tour operator needs to step in to arrange new flights for them.

'If that makes the tour operator go bust, then we would step in to bring ATOL-protected people home.'

A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'We are aware that a number of British nationals have been affected by difficulties with Comtel airlines flights from Amritsar to Birmingham via Vienna.

'We took a number of calls from distressed British nationals in relation to this issue and we have provided consular assistance to those who have sought it.

'We have been, and remain, in touch with the relevant authorities including the airline for clarification on how British nationals due to fly in the coming days will be affected.'

The spokesman added: 'Our current advice to anyone affected is to contact their tour operator, travel agent or the airline for further information and about possible alternative arrangements. We would also advise that they monitor our travel advice for India for any updates.'

A spokeswoman for Birmingham Airport said: 'Comtel Air has been contracted by a number of UK travel companies to facilitate flights to Amritsar, via Vienna. Comtel Air has a contractual arrangement with an approved airline to operate this service.

'Clearly we are very concerned about this situation and understand the distress that this is causing those passengers directly involved and their loved ones.

'Comtel Air has been operating from Birmingham Airport to Amritsar since October, and has so far offered a successful operation to several hundred passengers. We are therefore very disappointed that the operator is having these problems this week and we are urgently investigating the matter to get some clarity going forward.'