'Indians and Pakistanis are not entitled...': Engine fire leaves fliers to UK waiting for 19 hours in Kuwait

Passengers on a Gulf Air flight from Mumbai to Manchester endured a grueling 19-hour wait at Kuwait Airport after an emergency landing caused by an engine fire. Stranded passengers, many holding Indian and Pakistani passports, alleged severe neglect and discrimination by the airline.

‘If you’re entitled passport holders, and Indians and Pakistanis are not entitled passport holders,’” one of the passengers reportedly told NDTV. “They literally told us, ‘If you’re entitled for a transit visa, only then we can put you in a hotel outside.’”

Passengers described the frustration of seeking basic assistance. “We asked them, what about us, people who are not ‘entitled’ as you say? They said they would get back to us. We ran behind them for nearly two hours. Only after that we got lounge access. We asked for blankets, we asked for food. They didn’t give. No one even gave us water for the first four hours.” 

BT could not independently verify the claims made in the report. 

Passengers reported that only those with EU, UK, or US passports were provided hotel accommodations. Meanwhile, others were left waiting in the terminal, with many forced to sit on the floor. “There are some 60 passengers… They have been telling us since morning, every three hours, that we would be going home,” Singh said, surrounded by fellow stranded travelers.

The Indian embassy in Kuwait quickly intervened, deploying a team to assist and coordinate with the airline. In a statement on X, the embassy acknowledged the lack of hotel availability due to the GCC Summit and confirmed that passengers were accommodated in airport lounges.

“There was smoke; I saw the engine on fire,” another passenger said, recalling the flight’s emergency landing. “After landing, we asked them so many times to at least give us a place to sit. Everyone was sitting on the floor.”

In an update early Monday, the embassy confirmed that the flight to Manchester had finally departed at 4:34 a.m., with their team assisting passengers until departure. Gulf Air has yet to comment on the incident.