Travel plans cut short: Tourists in Chennai stranded amidst ongoing missile attacks

Chennai: A Bhuvanidharan, a YouTuber who goes by the alias ‘Tamil Trekker', found himself stranded in the US after his scheduled flight to India was cancelled amid escalating tensions in West Asia. Determined to return home, he booked an Air India flight at nearly double the original fare. The flight made a technical halt in Vienna before proceeding towards Mumbai. It was during this leg of the journey that he witnessed a tense moment. "It was night and most passengers were asleep. I was recording a video for my YouTube channel when I felt the aircraft swerve slightly. The in-flight map display was switched off." He claims he saw missiles streak past when they were overflying Kuwait.Bhuvanidharan, who also runs a travel company called Tripate, said he had initially booked a return ticket via Abu Dhabi. "After the conflict escalated, the situation appeared uncertain. I decided not to take chances and booked another flight," he said. Several business delegations and honeymooners remain stranded in the US and West Asia. Foreign tourists, too, are stuck in India, particularly in Chennai, following widespread flight cancellations, said Sriharan Balan, managing director of Madura Travels."Some travellers are willing to postpone their plans since airlines permitted date changes. But many are eager to return at the earliest," he said. "We are arranging circuitous routes such as US–Hong Kong–India to help them get back. These alternatives are significantly more expensive, and refunds for cancelled tickets are likely to take time." He added that many passengers cancelled planned trips from India to the US, Turkey and West Asian destinations.The Non-Resident Tamils (NRT) welfare board has received nearly 1,000 calls over the past two days, primarily from anxious relatives in Tamil Nadu enquiring about flight availability and seeking assistance in bringing family members home.Officials said many callers were distressed by reports of missile attacks and security alerts in Gulf nations. "Our helpline operators, in many cases, became counsellors, reassuring families, providing verified updates and highlighting that Indian embassies are closely monitoring the situation," a senior board official said.