Passengers Protest against Airline Apathy

Angry passengers refused to leave an airplane on Sunday, February 1, to register their disgust at airline staff, who failed to inform them of delays.

The protest is the latest in a string of customer actions against airlines, with passengers voicing increasing frustration over airline performance and customer service. 

Rouyesh News and the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that Asman flight 3774 was to scheduled to leave Tehran for Shiraz at 11.15 Saturday night, but did not take off until 3am the following morning. It then landed at Isfahan’s Beheshti Airport at 4.30am.

Airline staff did not inform passengers about the delay or the change of destination. Customers were furious, and staged a protest. They refused to leave the airplane until 10.00am when, IRNA reported, they were “forced to leave.”

Officials blamed bad weather conditions in Shiraz for the incident. 

Karim Aghaee, deputy of airport operations at Beheshti Airport in Isfahan, told IRNA: “The cause of the delay was rain and unfavorable weather conditions in Shiraz. According to rules and regulations, in this type of situation, Aseman Airlines should arranged for another plane to carry passengers to their designated destination as soon as the weather allowed. If it does not do this, the airline is required to refund ticket prices.”

Aghaee assured the agency that “all 100 passengers were treated properly at Isfahan airport.”

According to IRNA, there were several similar incidences in the past few days in domestic and international flights, when passengers on board did not leave the plane as a mark of protest.

Read the original article in Persian