'Bad Weather' Delays Bengaluru-Nepal Flight, Fliers Raise Slogans At Airport

A Nepal-bound Air India Express flight was delayed for around 18 hours at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, triggering massive chaos and protests by the passengers.

Videos from the airport showed the fliers - many of whom were travelling from Karnataka on a planned 10-day Nepal tour - gathering near the immigration area at Terminal 2 and raising slogans against the airline, alleging poor communication regarding the delay. Passengers claimed the airline failed to provide clear information about the revised departure time, leading to prolonged uncertainty.

#Watch | Around 180 passengers of an Air India Express flight to Nepal staged a protest at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru after their flight was delayed for over 18 hours due to alleged bad weather in Kathmandu pic.twitter.com/uPUPYsb01S

— NDTV (@ndtv) February 28, 2026

Around 180 passengers were waiting to board the flight, officials said.

According to the fliers, the flight initially departed Bengaluru for Kathmandu at 10.30 am on Thursday. However, the aircraft returned without landing in Kathmandu under circumstances that were not clearly communicated to travellers, they alleged. The same aircraft reportedly took off the next morning, but once again failed to land in Kathmandu and was diverted to Lucknow.

After prolonged waiting and exhaustion, travellers staged a protest inside the aircraft, forcing the airline to fly them back to Bengaluru.

Upon arrival, several passengers sat in protest at the airport.

The Air India Express cited "bad weather" as a reason for the flight delay.

"Due to adverse weather in Kathmandu, our Bengaluru-Kathmandu flights on 26 and 27 February were diverted. An additional flight operated today to recover guests from yesterday's disrupted service was also diverted for the same reason. Affected guests have been provided hotel accommodation and the option of complimentary rescheduling or full-refund cancellation. An additional recovery flight is planned tomorrow to accommodate these guests," the airline spokesperson said.

"We regret the inconvenience caused due to factors beyond the airline's control," they added.

(With inputs from PTI)