Kalimpong: Budget airline SpiceJet has been facing backlash on social media from netizens since Sunday evening after one of its flights scheduled to fly the pipes and drums band of Kumudini Homes to Mumbai from Bagdogra was cancelled at the “last moment citing technical error”.
The 21-member contingent of Kumudini Homes, a government higher secondary school in Kalimpong, West Bengal was on its way to Mumbai from where the team was scheduled to head for Zürich, Switzerland to participate in the Basel Tattoo.
Kumudini Homes had created history after being the first educational institution to ever be invited to perform in the history of Basel Tattoo, a grand annual military event, where elite military and a few non-military bands from around the globe impress audiences with peerless musical shows.
The school was invited by the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport to participate in the mega event.
The joy of the students and those of the people of Kalimpong and Darjeeling districts, who had earlier accorded a grand send-off to the contingent, was, however, short-lived following news of the flight being cancelled.
Disappointed by the development, the students even staged a dharna for hours at the Bagdogra airport, which instantly started to trend on social media. While several slammed the airline for its unprofessional behavior, calls for #boycottspicejet also started to trend on several platforms.
“It was a sad as well as an embarrassing moment for our students. They arrived at the Bagdogra airport on time and also went through the check-in process. The flight (SG168) was scheduled to leave at 4.30 pm but just moments before the boarding we were told that it was cancelled without giving us any reasons,” Rajesh Bhushal, a teacher of Kumudini Homes said.
Bhusal said that had the Spice Jet authorities shared the information beforehand, they would have looked for other alternatives for the students.
“When we enquired about the situation, the Bagdogra airport authorities transferred the responsibility to SpiceJet and the airlines transferred the responsibility to the Airports Authority of India. This is embarrassing not only for us but for the entire nation as our students are not only representing a school but the entire country,” he said.
Meanwhile, Darjeeling MP Raju Bista was among the first to respond to the uproar of the people.
The MP, while expressing outrage over the development in a letter to the SpiceJet managing director Ajay Singh, said: “By becoming the first school in the world to be invited to perform at Basel Tattoo, Kumudini Homes has created history not only for our region, but also for schools across the country.”
“Given the significance of this event towards strengthening Indo-Switzerland people to people connection and bilateral ties, it is in the best interest of SpiceJet to extend all help and support to this group, who are currently stranded at Bagdogra Airport due to the tardiness of SpiceJet,” Bista wrote, asking the airline to make alternative arrangements for the students.
The response of the airlines, however, remains unknown.
The MP later also visited the airport and met the students after which he assured to resolve the issue.
It was following his intervention that an alternative flight (IndiGo) for Delhi was arranged for the Kumudini contingent on Monday morning.
The students would be flying to Doha from the Indira Gandhi International Airport at 10 pm and then towards Zürich from Doha at 1.30 am.
Bista has, meanwhile, appealed to the people to not politicize the matter.
The 15th edition of Basel Tattoo would witness performances from elite military bands like the Swiss Army Central Band, Band of Her Majesty’s Welsh Guards (United Kingdom), His Majesty the King’s Guard Band and Drill Team (Norway), United States Air Force Honor Guard (USA), etc.
Scottish singer-songwriter Cameron Barnes and Red Hot Chilli Pipers, a Celtic rock band from Scotland, are also scheduled to perform at the show which will conclude on July 23.
Also read: Swiss tune for Kalimpong school pipe band