If you think North American airline flights are crowded and lack legroom, you probably don’t want to book a trip on Russia’s Tatarstan Airlines.
According to a report in London’s Daily Mail, six passengers on a crowded jet operated by the regional carrier had to stand for a five-hour flight.
The jet, a Boeing 737 with a capacity of 142 passengers, flew from Antalya, Turkey to Ekaterinburg, Russia, on September 24th. However, 148 people were on board.
"When the plane flew through turbulence, they went from standing to sitting in the aisle where naturally they had no safety belts," a passenger told the paper.
According to reports out of Moscow, the passengers did not have oxygen masks or life vests. "People had a choice," Evgenia Fedorova, a tour manager who had booked most of the passengers on the flight, told the Daily Mail. "To fly on that plane standing up, or wait seven hours for another plane. All the tourists decided to fly back despite uncomfortable conditions."
They may have reconsidered that decision during the flight. Angry standing-room only passengers are reportedly demanding $4,800 in compensation. The tour company offered $200.
'We cannot deny this happened to our customers," an airline official said Tuesday, "but the company will not share any details until everything is clarified. Our own investigation of this accident is about to begin."
