Five Non-Resident Indians, including a 10-year-old, were stranded at the Jeddah airport on Monday when they missed their flight after the domestic connection flight from Abha airport in Saudi Arabia was delayed following an attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels at the airport on Sunday night.
Sources said the five passengers — Kunhimoideen Kutty Angandan, Shamsudheen Cheruchoolayil, Mundayadan Korathu Ashokan, Aman Mohammed Palathingal (child), and Shoukath Ali Parampadan — are expected to reach Kozhikode on Tuesday morning as fresh tickets have now been issued to them.
The passengers, hailing from Malappuram and Kannur districts, escaped unhurt when a missile was targeted at the airport around 9 p.m. However, the child’s father Saithali, who was at the parking area after seeing him off, suffered minor injuries in the blast. He was admitted to the Abha Central Hospital. All of them had reached the airport and collected their boarding passes. It was then the area near the terminal came under attack. Subsequently, the airport authorities closed the boarding gates. As a result, the domestic flight, which was scheduled to depart at 9.20 p.m., was delayed by more than two hours. One of the passengers developed uneasiness after getting exposed to the smoke.
The flight — SV746 Saudi Arabian Airlines — for which they had booked tickets to Calicut had taken off before their domestic flight landed at the Jeddah airport. Incidentally, they had also completed their immigration clearance. However, the authorities cancelled the exit stamp in their passports.
According to reports, a Syrian national died and 21 civilians were injured in the attack. The Abha airport is frequently targeted by Houthis. At least 26 people were injured when drones fired from Yemen hit the airport two weeks ago. An Indian was among the injured.