Afghan refugees were forced to wait eight hours onboard their plane after it had landed at a UK airport on August 24, reports a charity.
Fahim Zazai, founder of the Afghan Community and Welfare Centre, received a phone call from one of the passengers stuck on the flight, who informed him that the refugees received no food from 12noon up until 8pm during their long wait on the runway and were not given a reason as to why they could not get off.
The passenger then proceeded to call Mr Zazai later that day to confirm that he and the other passengers, including a number of small children, had been let off the plane but would be spending the night inside Birmingham Airport.
He also said that the passengers were told after they had left the aircraft that the reason for the lengthy wait was due to the extensive procedure of processing details of refugees from four previous flights that had landed at the airport from Kabul before them, reports Birmingham Live.
Recounting what he had been told, Mr Zazai stated: "They were sat on the plane for eight hours from 12noon to 8pm and a passenger called me to see if I could find out what was happening.
"People were very distressed because there were small children and elderly people on the plane and there was no food.
"The crew said they didn't know what was happening either. These are people who have already waited a few days at Kabul Airport and travelled eight or 10 hours. Some of the flights are also stopping overnight in Dubai.
"The passenger told me they were told after they got off the plane that there were four planes ahead of them, whose passengers all needed to be processed before they can be, and that's why they had to stay on the plane.
"The processing is taking a long time, because I've had another phone call from a refugee who said they spent two days in the airport in Birmingham, so there are problems at the airports here, as well as in Kabul."
Mr Zazai is now offering his charity's assistance in helping create a better welcome for Afghan refugees arriving at Birmingham Airport after fleeing their home country following the Taliban's takeover of power.
He established the Afghan Community and Welfare Centre more than 10 year ago and helps refugee and migrant families settle and integrate into the community, by helping them access work, school admissions, GPs, English classes and local social groups.
Having been smuggled into England on the back of a lorry himself in 1999, aged 20, amid fears of persecution as the Taliban regime took hold in the country back then, Mr Zazai knows the difficulties posed by integration into a new country.
He said: "We would like to know whether we can help out, as a charity, by maybe providing food and water when these flights arrive if the airport or immigration will allow it. I would love to get involved and I feel something needs to be done to help these people get a comforting welcome.
"I came over as a refugee in a similar situation, so I know how difficult it is not knowing a language or understanding the local culture and it's important to help them integrate."
Birmingham Airport were contacted for a comment, but have not yet responded.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
