Tweets to Sushma save two Barodians stuck in Abu Dhabi

Ahmedabad: Vadodara-based Jimmy Upadhyay and Valay Solanki - both 4th year MBBS students in Moscow - were returning from the Russian capital when they were stranded for nearly 18 hours at Abu Dhabi airport.
Jimmy's father in Vadodara logged on to Twitter and sought help from union minister of external affairs Sushma Swaraj. He also phoned the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi.The combination of tweets and phone call led to help from an embassy official who ensured that Jimmy and Valay were able to fly out of Abu Dhabi safely.
Jimmy's father, Dr Dipak Upadhyay, said Jimmy and his friend had left Moscow by an Etihad Airways flight on June 13 at 12:35 pm local time. They reached Abu Dhabi the same day at 6pm local time, said Dr Dipak. "Their onward flight to Delhi was scheduled at 10 pm local time but they were denied boarding on the ground that they were late," said Dr Dipak.
He said that the two boys were then asked to book tickets for the next flight that was scheduled at 3 am on June 14. "Jimmy and Valay paid Rs 25,000 for the two tickets through credit card. The money got deducted but tickets were not issued. The website said boarding for the 3 am flight had already begun," said Dr Dipak.
Jimmy and Valay approached Etihad Airways employees at the airport who told them to book one more ticket for the 2 pm flight on June 14.
"On a friend's suggestion, I went on Twitter and tweeted for help," said Dr Dipak. "I also called the phone numbers given on the website of the Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi. I got in touch with one officer Rajhans on phone," he said. Before Jimmy and Valay could get a response on Twitter, the Indian embassy in UAE came to their help through phone.
Dr Dipak said that after this, Jimmy and his friend were approached by a woman employee of the airline. She gave them food coupons and ensured that they were able to board the afternoon flight.
Jimmy and Valay reached Ahmedabad airport on Wednesday morning.
Eithad Airways’ official response to the issue
Etihad Airways clearly stipulates in its conditions of carriage that it is a passenger’s responsibility to arrive at a gate on time, no later than 20 minutes before the scheduled departure of their flight. This is standard policy adopted by airlines at airports around the world.
In this particular case, the two passengers in question were booked on a connecting Etihad Airways / Jet Airways codeshare flight EY7602 from Abu Dhabi to New Delhi on June 13. The flight departure time was 2220 hrs. However, they turned up at the departure gate at 2210 hrs, 10 minutes after the gate was closed. Furthermore, the two passengers were seen taking selfies at the gate and clearly not in a rush for their flight. Despite holding boarding passes, under no circumstances could they be accepted for reporting late.
They had sufficient transit time at Abu Dhabi International Airport of 3 hours, 50 minutes from their previous flight from Moscow before connecting to New Delhi. In line with policies of any airline, a no-show and rebooking fee is applicable for the next available flight. The two passengers did not buy fresh tickets, but paid the appropriate charges for reinstating their bookings for a later flight.
Etihad Airways stresses it is not the airline’s responsibility for a passenger failing to adhere to the strict travel requirements clearly stated and provided at the time of booking.