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“Go Back to India” Aeroflot Forces U.S. Passengers to Fly to Asia

It has been revealed that five American passengers – all of south Asian descent – were forced to fly to India by Aeroflot after becoming stranded in Moscow when their connecting flight was canceled. In a legal complaint, the passengers say that Aeroflot threatened them with deportation.

It has emerged that Aeroflot forced five American passengers of south Asian descent to fly to IndiaThe Independent reports. The incident occurred on 7th January, when the travelers arrived in Moscow on a connecting flight from Delhi to the U.S. and became stranded when their New York-bound leg was canceled due to snow.

The outlet reports that while the carrier offered onward connecting flights to white passengers who had been on the same flight as the five, the group were informed that no alternative flights were available. Aeroflot is also alleged to have told them that the airline would not provide them with any accommodation. Additionally, the five were refused transit visas, which meant that they could not leave Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO) or stay in Russia for more than 24-hours.

In a complaint filed by legal representatives at Muslim Advocates on behalf of the passengers, it is alleged that they were told to “go back to India” or face deportation. The complaint records that the stranded travelers made contact with the American embassy and were informed that “it would be illegal for Aeroflot to deport United States citizens to third countries against their will.”

The embassy’s duty official attempted to speak with the carrier’s officials, but was rebuffed.

According to the complaint, which has been filed to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the passengers did eventually board an India-bound flight. Once there, they were then told that no New York-bound Aeroflot flights would be available for over a week. The five did eventually make it back to America, but only at considerable personal cost.

Commenting on the incident, Muslim Advocates said, “Aeroflot’s treatment of American citizens was not only unjust and unfair, it also violates Aeroflot’s internal protocols as well as federal aviation and non-discrimination laws.”

Offering its comments to the outlet, Aeroflot said, “We clearly fell short of our customary high standards of service in this incident … However, our thorough internal investigation established that this was not a case of discrimination based on appearance, and we do not accept this characterization in the complaint.”

[Photo: Shutterstock]

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6 Comments
M
mvoight July 10, 2018

The good news is they can SUE Aeroflot in the US. And, if Aeroflot refuses to pay a judgement, they can go after Aeroflot assets while they are in the US. Yep, hold a damn plane for ransom. :)

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chrisboote April 3, 2018

"our customary high standards of service" Hmm This actually seems to be *exactly* the standards of service I've experienced from Aeroflop

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ioto1902 March 30, 2018

Pax should feel themselves lucky that they were not offered a cup of tea ...

D
drphun March 28, 2018

The embassy's advice makes sense - deport them to NY!

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fender5787 March 28, 2018

If they’re American citizens yet they were deported to India, how is that not discrimination based on apperance?