When Grammy Winner Ricky Kej Blasted Lufthansa After Getting Stuck in Turkey for 30 Hours

On February 6, 2023, Ricky Kej, the Bengaluru-based Musician created history for becoming the only Indian to win three Grammy Awards. Back in October 2022, Ricky shared a horrifying experience on Twitter for getting stuck in Turkey for more than 30 hours, after a Frankfurt-Bengaluru Lufthansa flight made an emergency landing at the Istanbul International Airport. The flight was diverted to Turkey after a passenger suffered a medical emergency onboard the plane. While the flight was supposed to take off after deboarding the said passenger and completion of some technical processes, all the passengers got stuck at the Istanbul International Airport for over 31 hours.

Moreover, the passengers on the flight had complained of poor efforts from the crew for their support. Among the passengers was Ricky Kej, Grammy winning music director from India. He tweeted on October 19, 2022 afternoon about getting stuck at the airport. Little did he know, he will be stuck for more than 30 hours. 

Can't believe how @lufthansa takes Indian customers for granted. My Frnkfurt-Blore flight landed last evening 7pm in Istanbul for medical emergency. 17 hours later - no hotel, no staff, no explanation, 300 passengers stranded, no info whatsoever. @AmbAckermann @GermanCG_BLR — Ricky Kej (@rickykej) October 19, 2022

He tweeted "Can't believe how lufthansa takes Indian customers for granted. My Frnkfurt-Blore flight landed last evening 7pm in Istanbul for medical emergency. 17 hours later - no hotel, no staff, no explanation, 300 passengers stranded, no info whatsoever." 

Later, he tweeted a barrage of updates about the wait at the airport in Turkey. His last tweet stated "Over 31 hours now... Still stranded in Istanbul. Thanks to the utter disregard of Indian passengers by lufthansa. Still not even a statement, or any info from them. Zero accountability. Shows how much they care. Two nights now without a bed, no access to luggage, etc.."

The airline, confirmed the emergency landing due to a patient who had a medical condition. Also, it said in a statement, “For safety reasons, the oxygen cylinders used to treat the medical emergency must be replaced before continuing the flight. Unfortunately, this (took) more time than originally expected. The flight continuation from Istanbul to Bangalore is now scheduled for 8 pm local time Wednesday (October 19). Lufthansa deeply regrets the circumstances and is doing everything to minimise the inconveniences for its passengers."