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"We were kept in a room with no food or water and we were told we could not leave. We spent a whole night over there in that condition," Vineeta Sengupta, a passenger who was onboard flight AF-218, said.
"No one would have been treated the way we were treated," she said adding "we were made to sleep on the floor".
Refuting the allegations, the airlines said in a statement here that "passengers were taken care of by the Air France ground staff who spoke fluent English and passengers were also provided with food and water."
It said the pilot while en route from Paris to Mumbai noticed some vibrations from the cargo hold of the Airbus A-330, carrying 169 passengers and 12 crew members. The plane returned to Paris where it was checked but "no abnormalities were found".
The passengers said that their flight was delayed forcing them to spend in Paris close to 28 hours from Sunday night. During this time about 50 Indian passengers were kept in a small room for several hours at the airport while other passengers were given hotel accommodation, they said.
However, the airlines explained that they had put up passengers with valid transit visas at nearby hotels for the night and had made all attempts to obtain clearance for other passengers which was "time consuming".
Another passenger complained that they were only given sandwiches and water to sustain themselves and that too in a limited quantity forcing them to keep on asking for more.
The flight from Paris to Mumbai left from Charles de Gaulle airport on Sunday but later returned to the airport after the pilots noticed some vibrations from the cargo hold, airlines officials said.
A subsequent check revealed there was nothing wrong with the aircraft, they said.
"When we said we would complain, one of the officials looked at me, up and down, and then said that we could complain if we wanted to. It is very shameful that we were treated like this," a woman passenger said.
"The pilot had initially aborted take off at Paris airport saying it was because of some 'switch' trouble. After a two-hour wait, the plane took off only to return after four hours of flying. The captain announced that the aircraft was returning to Paris due to operational reasons," Sengupta said.
"The officials there even had threatened that we would be handed over to the police if we did not stop protesting," another passenger said.
54 Indian passengers were later "huddled out" of the airport on a "group visa", which the authorities could have provided much earlier, and taken to a hotel, she said.
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i flew air swiss once.. racists .. condescending look at indians, regardless of how well i behave. ofcourse, there are many indians who behave like idiots at airports, causing these folks to group us all as 'uncivilized', which is not fair.. i personally will never fly any european or american airlines. Fly Air canada or Air India, Jet, Srilankan airlines.
My elderly mother (62 years) flew last year to bangalore from US via Airfrance. At CDG Paris airport, when she was entering the new lounge to take the Blr flight, she was humiliated by security staff who confiscated chacolates she was carrying for her grandchildren(!), took additional money as bribe to prevent further harassment, teased her that she was carrying makeup(for her children). There were three black security personnel and one white lady staff. My mother kept quiet about this for a long time not wanting to make it an issue and I came to know of it recently. Can anyone imagine the (ill)reputed Paris airport staff behaving this way, that too with an elderly defenseless lady ? SHAME on AirFrance and all people of France for allowing this to occur. I personally have stopped flying airfrance and I do hope someone in AirFRance will read all these mails. Do not send your elderly parents through AF anymore!
I had exactly the same experience in 2006 when I missed my connecting Air France flight at Charles de Gaulle airport in 2006. I was travelling from Newcastle, England to New Delhi in an Air France flight, which got delayed due to bad weather. In my queue, I was the only person denied a transit visa. I was told that I would have to spend the next 24 hours in the small lounge with just a common toilet and a few steel benches, and food would be served later in the evening.When I started inquiring as to why I was not being given a transit visa, the authorities got hostile and rude.I demanded to be put on any plane out of France immediately, and travelled to India via Bangkok.That was the last time I traveled by Air France. Now, despite having a Schenhgen visa, I have decided not to travel to France ever.
Almost all the airlines originating in Europe treat Indians like this. Only way is stop using those airlines. We have better alternative routes though Gulf. We are a huge market, let the economics teach them a lesson.
I have had a horrible experience with Air France, even wrote to them but got standard cut and paste reply. I am waiting for my return to India, before I advice my organization which uses Air France to send more than 1000 people in Air France a month to stop it, I also have friends in Big Corporates to do the same. They are most horrible people, have heard their comments when they serve you special meal it is as if you are not human and it is dog food. Humiliation at it's worst, hope the SPINELESS Governemnt come to the rescue of it's people than run behind French Nuclear reactors/fuel.
I have travelled by Airfrance twice (2X2) and twice they have misplaced my luggage. The Paris Airport is a gutter. The toilet facility is aweful - it looks more like of 3rd world countries. Bangkok/Kualalumpur Airports are 1000 times better. The (Paris)Airport/immigration staff are awefull, lethargic, rude, unprofessional and, as you have pointed out, "racist". The probelm with their being "racist" to an INDIAN is that they are not (90%) white/caucasian but 90% of them are immigrant themselves (black, coloured). They are racist, demeaning in courtesy only to fellow brown or black people. I have always told people to avoid Paris and Airfrance. I have travelled by British Airways, Singapore, KLM, Lufthansa thru London, Frankfurt, Singapore, Amsterdam. But I have never experienced this even though all of them could be racist inside.
Instead of keep accusing any one try to give some tips if same situation happen in near future? i saw couple of suggestions they're good, like sending letters to Air france paris office. So instead of wasting time, why don't every passenger and support from indian public can send flood of mails about this issue? then only these people will know the reality. I think instead of depending on indian gov. it's better to open online website especially for indian public, not only this, if any international issue or nri's struck at any country. They can send mails or petitions to respective officials either by mail or by post (who maintains that site). Actually speaking indian embassies can provide this, but we can't expect this miracle can happen. So it's better to done by NRI community all over the world and show the strength of indians. Despite of all
i request to all indians please dont fly with air france or continental their staff is very racist boycott these airline fly india by airindia
France is always like that. I had same experience on airport in Paris. Even if they know English they would not speak. They look at you as if you you were from different planet. But look at this way, France has been side lined in last century after being a dominant country for long.They are arrogant by nature and whole world knows about it.Only thing world has to find out why they are arrogant.One more thing, on my many trips, I am equally appalled by conduct of some Indian passengers.Last time on flight from Hong-Kong to Delhi all Indian passenger start moving before plane came to stop.
I too have heard several horror stories about Air France. Simply boycott it. I have had really good experiences with American Airlines and Singapore Airlines.
As my title mentions this has happened to freinds before when they were transiting through Paris. They infact spent a whole day in the airport terminal with no food or water provided by the airline. So what does one do? Avoid Air France like the plague.Paris(CDG) airport is horrible to say the least. Check out the terminal provided to Indian flights - grouped with flights going to other third world countries and sub saharan Africa. They even have temporary structures for toilets ... No kidding. Compare that with terminals for flights departing to the US or Europe. Finding shutles that carry people between terminals was also a problem and the staff are totally non cooperative.The airlines always hide behind the transit visa fig leaf. Cut their business and they will fall in line.
I pity the people who had to go through this harrowing experience. Do not let this incident go by without any consequences. Lodge a complaint with the DGCA and Ministry of Aviation. Also sue this racial carrier and boycott them. If your company books tickets with them, change the carrier.
They haven't apologised yet! Why would anyone on earth wish to fly Air France, when there's Lufthansa, Singapore, Emirates and so many others with dignified service? Wait for the time when the unjust economic order changes, and all world has one currency! We deserve the best after the amount of hard work we do as Indians! Same thing goes for the World Bank crocodile tears over Indians below the poverty line! We must press for one world currency and closure of all cutely named 'tax havens'!!! May the world be cleased of all 'first world linguistic scource'.
Who in their right mind would travel by Air France? France is more of a white supermacy regime than a republic. What they do to the Turks and other minorities is beyond belief. Algerians are set on fire and live ghettos. French only want unfair trade with India to screw Indians. French are not worth thei salt to form any relationships with. India should stay away from them.
I had a similar experience with Air france while returning from USA via Paris. We boarded Air France flight from Detroit on 6th-Oct-08 and the flight was supposed to reach Paris on 7th-Oct-08 8 AM local time. We had the connecting flight to Bangalore at 10.30 am. But the flight from detroit got delayed and arrived at Paris only after 10AM, hence we missed our connecting flight. We were about 8 guys including 2 women who were Indians and held Indian passports. Initially Air France crew said they will arrange for an Transit Visa and Hotel accomodation in Paris and collected all the Passports. After a gruelling wait of 4 hrs till 3pm, they came back and told that Police dept has denied Transit Visas and we need to stay in the AP till the next day. An Indian couple who had US passport and few White guys were also given Transit visa. After a lot of fighting they rerouted us through Singapore. Our journey got strcd by 22 hrs and to add we dint get our baggage since AF missed it somewhere
INDIAND SHOULD NEVER FLY AIR FRANCE AGAIN.
I experiences a similar event in 1998, while flying from Washington DC to Amsterdam on KLM. Our flight was forced to land in Shannon Ireland. We were stranded there for more than 12 hours. However, the airline staff did everything they could to take good care of the passengers. When we reached Amsterdam our connecting flight was gone. KLM arranged for our transit visa and arranged for hotel, as our outbound flight next day was from Frankfurt. When I asked a airline staff, she told me that that was routine especially when we have fog in Delhi, which causes flight delays. In the reported case Air France should have done everything to take care of the passengers.
Air France is a terrible airline. If the French can't take care of Indian passengers they should not fly to India. But they make a lot of profit on the France India sector. The Indian airline companies fly only Paris but they fly to 6 destinations in India. To the posting by MARY SUSAN I have to say she has a dim idea of the European attitude and mentality to the Indians. Indian air companies do no treat foreigners in the shabby way the Europeans do. I fly about 30 times in a year and I get the feeling these Europeans think they are doing you a favor.
Mary susan, I am sure you must be another of those french racists. I have travelled via Paris many a times, and by the look of the airport officials and the way they communicate, its easy to make out whats on their minds. You dirty dumb people. Agree, Delays happen everywhere, but racism, its found pre-dominantly in France.GTH
I have never has any desire to visit France... they think they are born superior....But now will ensure that I will never use their airlines as well.......
It is really amazing that they had visa problem only for the indians. do not use air france or other french products and these arrogant people will come to their sense.
Cut out all these generalisation,French are no more racist than any others, including the Indians. Having lived here for many years can allude that.French are very blunt and candid and does not make small talks.So keep cool and stop axaggerating.
France has an uppity attitude especially with minorities... look at the way they treat the SIkhs......Boycott France and French airlines
Look at the way the french treat the minorities in their country ..... with absolute disregard...we need to boycott their airlines .......
Iam not surprised France is a racist country... They are uppity and we as Indians need to boycott France and french based airlines