Grammy winner Ricky Kej stranded at Istanbul airport for 31 hours, says 'Indians are treated as homeless'

Grammy-winning Indian music composer Ricky Kej lashed out at the Lufthansa airlines and Istanbul airport authorities recently after he was left stranded at the airport for more than 31 hours.

Kej took to his official Twitter handle to share his ordeal with the netizens and stated that the airlines takes its Indian passengers for granted and even treats them as "homeless".

He tweeted that the Frankfurt to Bengaluru flight that he was travelling on had to land in Istanbul for a medical emergency. However, the passengers were left at the airport without any explanation and were not even allotted lounge, hotels or other facilities.

"Can't believe how @lufthansa takes Indian customers for granted. My Frnkfurt-Blore flight landed last evening 7pm in Istanbul for medical emergency. 17 hours later - no hotel, no staff, no explanation, 300 passengers stranded, no info whatsoever," he tweeted.

Later, in another tweet, he wrote, "Our airline @lufthansa has zero staff here, still no hotel rooms, and absolutely no information as to when we will take off. I reiterate, I believe @lufthansa is treating us this shabbily, only because it is the Indian sector."

He went on to say, "27 hours -still stranded in Istanbul Airport. @lufthansa airline obviously suffering from existential Crisis. Being called Racists, complacent, incapable, indifferent, evil, while 380 passengers - mainly Indian, are treated as homeless. No hotel, no lounge, no access to luggage."

The airlines issued a statement on its social media handle later that the oxygen cylinders that were used to treat the medical emergency had to be replaced before continuing the flight, and hence, it was diverted to Istanbul.

"Lufthansa deeply regrets the circumstances and is doing everything to minimise the inconveniences for its passengers," it read.