Problems as passenger plane chartered for Karzai

KABUL): A plane that was scheduled to fly from New Delhi to Kabul was chartered to take President Hamid Karzai and his delegation to Islamabad, creating problems for travellers, officials said on Tuesday.

One official told Pajhwok Afghan News on condition of anonymity the Kam Air plane flew the president to Islamabad, where Karzai extended his daylong trip by another day at the request of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Kabul International Airport Director Mohammad Yaqub Rassouli called fight delays a common practice in the country, saying the airline was not responsible for passengers’ inconvenience. Karzai was to return home on Monday evening but extended his trip, he argued.

Passengers who have booked tickets would be flown to Kabul from Delhi by another plane of the company in the evening, he said, reiterating such situations were exceptional and unintentional.

The flight, which was scheduled to take off from Delhi at 2pm, was delayed to 4pm, then to 5pm and finally to 9:20pm, complained Moeen, one of the passengers in India.

“Everything is very expensive at the Delhi airport; we don’t have enough money to eat food at the airport. We have to stay here on empty stomach,” said another passenger, Adina.

But Kam Air deputy head Farid Paikar denied the plane had flown the president to the neighbouring country, saying the flight would take place at 5pm. It was delayed due to technical problems, he concluded.

myn/mud

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