BENGALURU: Several Kannadigas traveling from Zurich, Switzerland, to Bengaluru found themselves stranded in Istanbul after their flight (EK 088) was redirected following a missile attack by Iran on Israel on Tuesday night.
The flight, en route from Zurich to Dubai, encountered the incident when Iran launched around 180 missiles at Israel. Many passengers, including around 10 Kannadigas, were meant to transfer from Dubai to Bengaluru but remained stuck on the plane. The flight took off from Zurich at 3:25 PM and was scheduled to land in Dubai at 10 PM that evening.
One passenger, Prasanna, shared in a self-recorded video that he was returning to Bengaluru after attending an L&T conference in Switzerland. He explained, “Our flight was diverted to Istanbul due to Iran’s missile attack. We were supposed to reach Dubai and then on to Bengaluru, but now we have been rerouted. We are still on the plane, and the doors haven’t been opened. There are around 300-350 of us on board, and we’re all concerned. We are uncertain about how the airline plans to get us to Bengaluru.”
The flight from Dubai to Bengaluru was meant to arrive the next day, but there were no updates. The Kannadigas reported feeling anxious for 12 hours but are now somewhat relieved, with expectations of reaching their destination later on Wednesday or Thursday.
