Kolkata: An unexpected gesture from the airline carrier saved the day for Tollygunge resident, Rashmi Kothari. She was scheduled to fly from Kolkata to Bengaluru on an 8.25 pm Akasa flight on Wednesday. She had left home around 5.40 pm, expecting the journey to take about an hour. But a temporary road closure for VIP movement and traffic congestion stretched the journey duration considerably. She reached the airport about eight minutes after the airline’s baggage check-in cut-off.“I was delayed by about 8 minutes. Akasa Air could have simply objected from allowing me to board the aircraft. They didn’t,” Kothari said, recalling the tense moments at the airport. She feared she would either have to leave the baggage behind or take the next flight. “At that point, I was almost certain I’d either have to leave my large suitcase behind or take the next flight. But instead of simply saying “Rules are rules,” the Akasa team listened, coordinated and tried to find a solution. They agreed to let me retrieve my baggage at the boarding gate if I could get it through security,” she wrote on social media.Kothari had completed web check-in. She had informed the airline about her baggage within the prescribed cut-off. Thus, the staff coordinated with security officials. “The CISF team assessed the situation and allowed the suitcase through,” she added. Kothari then submitted the checked-in bag at the gate and boarded her flight. Airline officials, however, said flyers should not treat a ticket as a guarantee that they could arrive at the last minute.
