Grammy Winner Ricky Kej Slams Lufthansa, Says Airline Taking "Indians For Granted"

Bengaluru-based music composer and Grammy Award Winner Ricky Kej recently slammed Lufthansa airlines for poor customer service after a medical emergency left around 300 passengers stranded at the Istanbul airport for over 34 hours. In a series of tweets, Mr Kej alleged that his Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Bengaluru landed in Istanbul because of a medical emergency onboard. However, he added that the airline left other passengers stuck at the airport with no explanation, no hotel, and no information whatsoever. 

Mr Kej stated that over 300 people on the flight - mainly Indians - were left to fend for themselves as Lufthansa did not provide any accommodation, lounge access, luggage or even an explanation. "Can't believe how @lufthansa takes India customers for granted," he wrote on Twitter. 

27 hours -still stranded in Istanbul Airport. @lufthansa airline obviously suffering from existential Crisis. Being called Racists, complacent, incapable, indifferent, evil, while 380 passengers - mainly Indian, are treated as homeless. No hotel, no lounge, no access to luggage. pic.twitter.com/XFJBfUKvdq

— Ricky Kej (@rickykej) October 19, 2022

Hours later, Mr Kej shared an update, saying that no Lufthansa employee was in sight. 

"27 hours -still stranded in Istanbul Airport. @lufthansa airline obviously suffering from existential Crisis. Being called Racists, complacent, incapable, indifferent, evil, while 380 passengers - mainly Indian, are treated as homeless. No hotel, no lounge, no access to luggage," he said. 

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Further, Mr Kej alleged that they were being treated shabbily "only because it is the Indian sector". He stated that Lufthansa kept "Indian passengers "detained" at Istanbul Airport" and "frequently changed flight timings, to prevent us from leaving the airport". 

As per another update, Mr Kej also said that other passengers had spent over 31 hours stuck at the airport with no communication from the German-based airline. 

In response to the tweets, Lufthansa Airlines, on the other hand, said, "Lufthansa flight LH754/18 October from Frankfurt to Bangalore had to be diverted to Istanbul due to a medical emergency on board. For safety reasons, the oxygen cylinders used to treat the medical emergency must be replaced before continuing the flight." 

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"Unfortunately, this takes more time than originally expected.The flight continuation from Istanbul to Bangalore is now scheduled for 8pm local time today. Lufthansa deeply regrets the circumstances and is doing everything to minimize the inconveniences for its passengers," the airline added on Thursday. 

Meanwhile, Ricky Kej had previously also called out IndiGo after finding an insect on his flight. "A cockroach travelling with us on IndiGo flight 6E2064 from Patna to Delhi on the 13th of October. I am sure it got a complimentary meal," he wrote on Twitter.