A Russian tourist plane had "standing room only" as it took off from a busy Airport last Friday because there were not enough seats for all the passengers. Russian aviation officials have launched an investigation into the incident. According to media reports, on Friday, September 24, a TATARSTAN Boeing 737 was scheduled for Charter Service from Antalya, Turkey, to Ekaterinburg, Russia, with 148 passengers booked on the flight. For unknown reasons, at the last minute the 737 had to be replaced with another 737, however this one only had 142 seats on it. All 148 passengers were then boarded onto the aircraft, with 6 adult passengers left without a seat and told that they would need to remain standing for the 5 hour flight. Those who complained were told by the crew to put a child on their lap, but the children onboard were far too big to be considered lap children. The incident came to light only after angry passengers demanded £3000 each in compensation. The tour company which booked their flight offered them only £130. "The adults had no choice but to fly standing for the 5 hours," said a passenger. "When the plane flew through turbulence, they went from standing to sitting in the aisle where naturally they had no safety belts". A manager of Anex-Tour which booked many passengers on the flight, said: "People had a choice, to fly on that plane standing up, or wait 7 hours for another plane. All the tourists decided to fly back despite uncomfortable conditions". A Tatarstan Airlines official said last night: "We cannot deny this happened to our customers. But the company will not share any details until everything is clarified. Our own investigation of this accident is about to begin". The incident broke multiple international laws regarding the transport of passengers on airliners. Among the laws broken was the fact that the standing passengers did not have oxygen masks or life vests on the overcrowded jet.
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