Omar, who was in Mumbai on vacation, alleges she was cheated by both the airline’s staff and the hospital. “I was going to Dubai when I fell unconscious after the flight made an emergency landing in Mumbai. When I gained consciousness, I found myself in this hospital. A woman employee of Emirates who was with me at the hospital assured me that the medical bills would be taken care of by the airline. On Friday, I requested the hospital authorities to discharge me. However, they told me that I cannot leave the hospital unless my bills are cleared. The officials from the airlines had later refused to pay the bills and so I was not allowed to leave the hospital.”

Meanwhile, authorities at Nanavati hospital said Omar created so much ruckus in the hospital that they thought it was better to discharge her without waiting for someone to pay her bills. Medical Superintendent Dr Ashok Hatolkar said: “The patient was brought to the hospital by the airline staff following an epileptic attack. We gave her all the treatment she needed. But now neither she nor the airlines are willing to pay her medical bill of Rs 27,000. She abused our staff, created a chaos and so we had to let her go. We treat such emergency cases on humanitarian grounds, but who will take the responsibility if such patients leave without paying the bills?”

However, officials from the airline claim they coordinated with the hospital and Omar. A spokesperson from the airline said, “Emirates gives the safety of its passengers utmost importance and in light of Omar’s situation and in the absence of her relatives we had taken possible steps to ensure her safety and survival. While hospitalised, Emirates staff had maintained a continuous presence in her ward, while keeping her family members updated.”

Omar was scheduled to leave the country on July 27, but is now left in lurch, as she is stuck in the city with an expired visa and very little money. She claims she had to suffer a lot at the hospital — her shoes went missing — the authorities did not allow her to leave and on Friday she had to spend all night sleeping on the floor. “My visa expired on July 27, the day I was hospitalised. I have nowhere to go now, as I have got very little money and nobody is willing to help me. I have not eaten anything since Friday morning,” she said.