Jet Airways on Saturday issued a statement about the two-hour delay of a Mumbai-Bhopal flight because of overbooking on December 2, reported PTI. The airline had booked seventeen extra passengers, who were part of a marriage party of 80 people. The group reportedly intimidated the airline officials and threatened them using their political contacts.

A passenger claimed that the group tried to bribe the cabin crew to make some passengers deboard, so that the family could attend the wedding in Bhopal. Media reports said the family was related to a state minister.

The airline, however, said the flight was delayed because of overbooking and some technical problem. They said the offloaded passengers refused to accept compensation and created a ruckus, prompting intervention by law enforcement officials. “Subsequently, all the offloaded guests were duly compensated as per DGCA guidelines and the technical glitch identified and corrected for subsequent bookings,” the statement said.

Passengers accused the airline of “unprofessional behaviour”. “The Jet Airways could have easily managed the situation, but what they did was absolutely unprofessional. There was loss of time and other things as well. We are going to file complaint against it in the consumer court,” a passenger, Gurpreet, told ANI.

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