7 Deccan passengers fail to board Agartala flight

Kolkata, Mar 4 (UNI) A number of Air Deccan passengers today protested against the airline authority at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport as they were not accomodated in an Agartala-bound flight in spite of possessing valid tickets.

Airport officials said the Deccan flight was scheduled to depart at 1250 hrs. Although the aircraft had a capacity of 180 seats, tickets were issued to 187 passengers.

''The airline staff at the airport failed to explain the reason behind the excess booking and refused to refund the fare,'' an affected passenger said.

The flight could leave only after seven passengers were offloaded, including members of a marriage party.

Personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Airport Authority of India (AAI) at the airport had to intervene after some passengers of the airline started protesting.

UNI