Virgin Atlantic flight VS358, en route from London Heathrow Airport to Mumbai, India, made an emergency landing at Diyarbakır Airport on April 2 due to a medical emergency on board. Following the incident, technical inspections revealed that the aircraft could not continue on its planned route, leaving 265 passengers most of them Indian citizens stranded at the airport for nearly 50 hours.
In a statement from Virgin Atlantic, the airline said: “The safety and comfort of our passengers is our top priority. Technical checks required for the aircraft’s departure are ongoing.” The company also announced that the passengers were scheduled to fly to Mumbai today, but if necessary permits were not obtained on time, they would be transported by land to an alternative Turkish airport.
Temporary Visas and Hotel Accommodation Provided for Indian Passengers
The Indian Embassy in Turkey stated that they were closely monitoring the developments: “As a result of our efforts, 99 Indian passengers who were stranded have been granted temporary visas. Turkish authorities provided hotel accommodation, food, and medical assistance,” the statement read. As part of Virgin Atlantic’s crisis response, an additional flight, numbered VS1358, is scheduled to depart from Diyarbakır today at 12:00 PM.
Passengers: ‘One Toilet for 300 People, No Staff in Sight’
Some distressed passengers shared their experiences on social media. One passenger said, “We’ve been waiting in a confined area for 15 hours. There’s only one toilet for 300 people. We haven’t even been able to get a stroller since the plane landed. There’s no sign of Virgin staff,” expressing frustration.
“Mother of the youngest child on board requesting for baby food. It’s been almost 24 hours – Passengers of @VirginAtlantic flight VS358 share their plight in the video below. @virginmedia confirms that the flight landed due to medical emergency at Diyarbakır Airport in Turkey… pic.twitter.com/zUKuNNpVBX
— loveena tandon (@loveenatandon) April 3, 2025
Another passenger posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), “Stranded in Turkey because of flight VS358.”
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson apologized for the disruption and said: “Once all engineering checks are completed, we are doing everything we can to ensure our passengers reach Mumbai safely.”
My family along with 250+ passengers have been inhumanely treated by @virginatlantic .
BrowseWhy is this chaos not being covered in the @BBCWorld or global media?? Over 30 hours confined at a military airport in Turkey.
In contact with the @ukinturkiye to please more pressure needed pic.twitter.com/TIIHgE07bb— Hanuman Dass (@HanumanDassGD) April 3, 2025
