Air India barred 19 Indian students from boarding its flight to San Francisco from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, Telangana on Monday.
The students were barred from travelling as the authorities in the united States of aMerica (USA) had informed that the universities they were going to were under scrutiny.
The national carrier has decided to not accept students headed to these universities till the time it got clearance from Air India’s US office for their travel.
Air India received communication on December 19, 2015 from the US Customs and Border Protection agency that two universities namely Silicon Valley, San Jose, California and North Western Polytechnic College, Fremont, CA are under scrutiny and students who arrived into San Francisco were not allowed to enter the US and were deported back to India,Air India Statement
The airliner said it will start accepting students travelling to join these universities, at no additional cost, as soon as clearance is received from Air India’s US office.
It has also offered full refund and waived all charges such as cancellation and rescheduling fee.
In the past, we have witnessed that students who secured admission in those institutions have been deported to India as soon as they land there. To avoid embarrassment to them and save their money, we prevented them from boarding the flightAir India Official, Hyderabad
The airline also added that so far 14 students who travelled on their flights to San Francisco have been deported.
Unaware of the imminent deportation, the students with a one-way ticket not only incur a costs of return travel even as immediate availability of seats is a problem, the airliner has pointed out.
One of the students highlighted their plight and talked about the intense treatment given to them by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
We were interrogated for 14-15 hours by the FBI. We were all kept in one cell. It was humiliating, we were not allowed to go anywhere and were told that we have to return immediatelyDeepak, student as told to NDTV
US Consulate officials in Hyderabad said they are trying to gather information on the episode.
We are indeed aware of the reports that some students were denied entry on the flights to the US. At this time, we don’t have any further information to share with you on this particular issue, but we are seeking clarity on the situation. As soon as we have new information, we will get back to you immediatelyUS Consulate
When contacted, an immigration official at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport said that boarding clearance has to be given by the airline concerned.
(With inputs from PTI.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)