Passengers held hostage by airline pay $32,000 for fuel

A Birmingham-bound Comtel Air flight from Amritsar, India, found itself stranded in Vienna with no money to pay for fuel to complete the rest of the trip.

180 passenger were told they had to leave the plane, or else fork over 23,400 euros (~$32,000) for fuel and various airport taxes. Those who did not have cash-on-hand were escorted to nearby ATMs; others had to borrow the money from fellow passengers.

“They said there was a deficit of nearly 20,000 pounds and they gave us receipts,” said passenger Ranbir Dehal of Wolverhampton. “They lined up the buses and said we would be removed from the plane if we didn’t pay up.”

The plane finally left Vienna after a six hour delay. As many a three other flights along the same route may have encountered similar “financial difficulties.”