Airline blames agent for ‘cash for more fuel’ scandal
Comtel Air has cancelled flights following allegations that its passengers were forced to pay for extra fuel or be stranded (see earlier story).
The airline, which launched cheap flights from Birmingham to Amritsar, via Vienna, last month, has cancelled four flights planned for the coming weekend.
In a statement, Birmingham Airport said: “Clearly, we are very concerned about this situation and understand the distress that this is causing those passengers directly involved and their loved ones.
“We stress that we are very disappointed that the operator is having these problems this week and we working hard to provide some clarity going forward.”
It said Comtel Air is an Austrian registered airline and is therefore not within the jurisdiction of the UK’S Civil Aviation Authority.
Passengers due to travel with the airline are advised to contact the travel company they have booked the flights with for advice.
Those passengers overseas are being urged to ascertain whether their travel arrangements are protected by the ATOL scheme.
“We expect the airline to clarify the situation regarding its flight programme going forward within the next few days,” said the Birmingham Airport statement.
The cancellations follow allegations that more than 180 passengers on a flight from India to Britain were forced to fork out more than £20,000 in cash to pay for fuel to allow the plane to complete the journey.
The passengers were reportedly stranded on the tarmac in Vienna during a refuelling stop after being told the airline had "ran out of cash to fund the last leg of the trip".
Passengers claimed the airline then threatened to remove their luggage from the plane if they did not pay up.
According to reports, after a six-hour standoff, Austrian police were called and the passengers were escorted to ATMs to withdraw cash.
BBC reports say Comtel majority shareholder Bhupinder Kandra blamed travel agents for the problems, saying money had not been passed on to the airline.
by Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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