A Port Blair-bound Air India flight took off on Saturday without 25 passengers carrying tickets, as the plane did not have the capacity to seat them. This triggered protests by the travellers.

The airliner usually uses a 145-seater aircraft but on Saturday the plane was smaller with 120 seats, Air India officials said.

Airport sources said Air-India's Kolkata-Port Blair flight left at 5.35 am without taking the passengers from NSC Bose international airport in Kolkata.

Air-India officials said a few of the left-out passengers would be sent by a JetLite flight to Port Blair and the rest would be provided accommodation in a hotel and taken on Sunday.

A similar incident happened on Friday evening when Jet Airways switched to a smaller aircraft for its Kolkata-Agartala flight.It ended up with 10 passengers in excess and left them at the airport, sources said.