“No food, no toilets”: Over 250 Indian passengers stranded at Turkey Airport for 30+ hours

Over 250 passengers, most of them Indian nationals, have been stranded for more than 30 hours at Turkey’s Diyarbakir Airport after a Virgin Atlantic flight made an emergency landing due to a medical issue. The passengers were left with no food, unusable toilets, and no access to phone charging points, sparking concerns over their safety and well-being.

The flight, which took off from London’s Heathrow Airport bound for Mumbai, was forced to land on Wednesday morning at Diyarbakir – a small military airport in southeastern Turkey with limited civilian infrastructure. Virgin Atlantic later reported a technical snag following a “hard landing,” preventing the aircraft from taking off again.

While the flight crew was quickly moved to hotel accommodation, passengers remained confined to a restricted airport zone with almost no facilities. According to multiple social media posts, including from Aam Aadmi Party leader Preeti Sharma Menon, stranded travelers had no access to proper food, working toilets, or phone chargers, and were unable to communicate due to language barriers with airport staff.

Menon, whose sister and niece are among those stuck, posted on X that conditions were worsening. “It’s getting grim every moment. The airport toilets are unusable. Food is scarce. Phones are dying,” she wrote. Other users echoed the sentiment, with one stating that her relative received just one sandwich and hadn’t been able to send another message due to low battery.

Passengers were also alarmed when airport staff reportedly demanded passports and expressed anger at the unscheduled landing. The lack of English-speaking personnel further heightened confusion, according to several relatives in India who are anxiously awaiting updates.

Virgin Atlantic responded publicly after mounting pressure, stating that all affected travelers have now been moved to overnight hotel accommodations in Turkey. The airline also confirmed it is working on either technical repairs or deploying an alternative aircraft to complete the journey to Mumbai. If technical approvals are not received, passengers may be transported via bus to another Turkish airport to resume travel.

As of now, Virgin Atlantic says the flight may depart at 12.00 pm local time today, pending final clearance. Until then, the passengers — caught in an international limbo — are hoping for a swift and safe resolution.