Celebration cut short: Indore woman's flight switch turns fatal

An Indore woman's loving gesture to celebrate her husband's birthday ended in sorrow. Harpreet Kaur Hora advanced her flight to London, only to become one of the 241 passengers on the ill-fated Air India plane that crashed in Ahmedabad.

For Harpreet, a 28-year-old IT professional working in Bengaluru, the journey to London was meant to be a joyous reunion as her husband, Robbie Hora, awaited her arrival there.

Initially, Harpreet had planned to fly on June 19 but switched to the earlier flight. "She had made plans to go to London on June 19. However, she booked a ticket on the ill-fated flight to celebrate Robbie's birthday. The couple also had plans to tour Europe," said her father-in-law's brother, Rajendra Singh Hora.

He recalled that Harpreet had just visited her parents in Ahmedabad before heading to London. "It was meant to be a happy stopover. Just before she boarded the flight, we all wished her well on our family WhatsApp group. She was so excited," he added.

"We and everyone who lost their loved ones need to know why this happened. So many families have lost their loved ones in this tragedy," he said.