A frustrating traffic jam turned into a miraculous stroke of fate for Bhoomi Chauhan, a 28-year-old student who narrowly missed Air India flight AI171, which crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad on Thursday, June 12, 2025. The London-bound flight claimed the lives of 241 people on board and more on the ground.

Chauhan, a business administration student living in Bristol, UK, was visiting western India for a holiday and was scheduled to fly home on the ill-fated Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. However, heavy traffic delayed her journey to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International International Airport, causing her to arrive just 10 minutes after boarding was due to commence. Despite having checked in online and being assigned economy class seat 36G, airline staff denied her entry.

“We got very angry with our driver and left the airport in frustration,” Chauhan recalled to the BBC’s Gujarati service. “I was very disappointed.”

After leaving the airport, while discussing a ticket refund with her travel agent over tea, she received the shocking news. “There, I got a call that the plane had gone down,” she recounted, adding, “This is totally a miracle for me.”

Chauhan had traveled from Ankleshwar, located 201km south of Ahmedabad, before getting stuck in the city’s central traffic. She remembered feeling dejected at the time, thinking, “If I had started a little early, I would have boarded the plane.” She had even pleaded with airline staff, explaining her mere 10-minute delay and that she was the last passenger, but they did not allow her to board.

Flight AI171 took off as scheduled on Thursday afternoon but reportedly struggled to gain altitude, crashing approximately 30 seconds into the flight. The aircraft impacted a residential area, resulting in the deaths of 230 passengers and 12 crew members, along with at least eight people on the ground.

Only one passenger, British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh, survived the disaster, sustaining injuries and receiving hospital treatment. The flight’s manifest included 169 Indian, 53 British, 7 Portuguese, and 1 Canadian national. Air India has extended its deepest condolences to the families of the deceased, emphasizing their focus on supporting all those affected.

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