Indians from Egypt accuse Air India of fleecing

Mumbai: Indians who were brought back to the country from strife-ridden Egypt on special Air India flights complained on Tuesday of being overcharged by the airline.

"While I appreciate the effort made by the airline to bring us back to India, I was taken aback when I had to pay Rs 45,000 to fly back," said telecom professional Pankaj Sharma, who went to Cairo on a business trip. He returned Monday.

"The normal one-way fare to Egypt would not exceed Rs 20,000. But what was also troubling was that the airline wanted to be paid in cash," said one of his co-passengers, who did not want to be named.

Passengers complained that the ATM at the Cairo Airport did not dispense cash and there was no way they could be carrying the amount in cash.

"There were several passengers who did not have cash, nor could they withdraw money from ATMs. Such people were made to sign an undertaking by the airline which stated that the amount will have to be paid within a month or else their passports will stand cancelled by the government of India," Sharma said.

An airline official said: "Air India was asked to operate on this sector on commercial terms. Air India is not making any money on this sector and it has only attempted to recover its cost."

"We do not fly to Cairo at all. This was not a flight of evacuation, but an unscheduled flight," the official said.

Stranded Indians from Egypt have been brought back to the country on two Air India flights.

The first Air India flight carrying 320 passengers arrived Monday. The second plane landed in Mumbai early on Tuesday with 280 Indians on board.

Flight schedules in and out of Egypt have been disrupted in the past few days after anti-government protests broke out in the country to press for the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, who has been in power for more than three decades.

Over 100 people have been killed and hundreds injured in the clashes. Around 1,000 people have been arrested across the country since the protests broke out seven days ago against the Mubarak government.