‘Madras Eye’ passegers offloaded

N.  Krishnakumar  of  Madurai  was  prevented  by  Emirates  Airline  officials  from boarding  a  Chennai-Dubai  flight  on  suspicion  of    conjunctivitis. 

Six  other passengers were also stopped from boarding  for the same reason. 

 

Krishnakumar said, “I  had conjunctivitis earlier,  but is  cured  now.  Since,  I  had to be at work in Abu Dhabi,  I immediately left Chennai airport to get my eyes tested at Balaji Medical College and Hospital at Chromepet.  When I returned with the fitness certificates, the flight had already left,” he added. 

When Krishnakumar  approached the airlines  officials,  they  said  they  would arrange  to  put  him  on another  flight  on  Saturday  night.

 

The  officials  explained   they were  concerned about the health of other passengers, who would be at risk of infection. However, the passengers  reiterated they were fit and  had proof of fitness certificates, for which they had to  rush to faraway hospitals  outside  the  airport which took  more than two hours and they missed their flight. 

 

They demanded that an  ophthalmologist   be included  on the  airport  medical team,  so that  passengers can get their eyes tested easily and get the certificates. While, the plans of the  other  passengers  were  not  known, one  passenger  Imran from Tiruchy said  his visa expired on Friday and he would have to apply for a new visa to fly again.