Indian family stranded at Hong Kong Airport; Lokesh urges Jaishankar to act
Synopsis
A Telugu family with two toddlers has been stranded at Hong Kong Airport for over 52 hours after losing four passports — two Indian, two American — on a Cathay Pacific flight from Hyderabad. Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh has publicly urged External Affairs Minister Jaishankar to step in, putting a spotlight on the diplomatic machinery available to distressed Indian travellers abroad.
Key Takeaways
A Telugu family has been stranded at Hong Kong Airport for over 52 hours after losing their passports on Cathay Pacific flight CX 672 .
The family was travelling from Hyderabad to Chicago via Hong Kong; the flight departed at 2.43 am on 2 July .
The missing bag contained two Indian passports and two US passports ; the family includes children aged 5 and 3 years .
Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh appealed to External Affairs Minister S.
Jaishankar on 5 July to provide immediate assistance.
No official response from the Ministry of External Affairs or the Indian Consulate in Hong Kong had been reported at the time of publication.
Andhra Pradesh Minister for Human Resources Development and Information Technology, Nara Lokesh, on Sunday, 5 July appealed to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to urgently assist a Telugu family stranded at Hong Kong Airport after losing their passports mid-journey. The family has been stuck at the airport for over 52 hours, according to a public appeal posted on social media.
What Happened
The family, identified through a social media post by Rajeswari Bolla, was travelling from Hyderabad to Chicago via Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific flight CX 672, which departed Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, Hyderabad, at 2.43 am on 2 July. Somewhere during the journey, a bag containing two Indian passports and two US passports went missing.
In her appeal, Bolla wrote: 'My family were supposed to travel from Hyderabad to Chicago via Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific airlines on July 2nd, but we lost our passports on the airplane. We are stranded in Hong Kong Airport for the last 52 hrs. We have little kids aged 5 yrs and 3 yrs with us and we are really in a difficult situation. Requesting your team's urgent intervention or guidance to help us reach the right authorities to help us get replacement passports issued. Please help.'
Lokesh's Intervention
After being tagged in Bolla's post, Nara Lokesh — son of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu — took to X to escalate the matter to the External Affairs Minister. Lokesh said he was 'terribly sorry' to learn of the family's ordeal and urged Jaishankar to 'kindly look into this issue and provide immediate assistance to the family.'
The Family's Situation
Bolla also posted photographs of the family waiting at Hong Kong Airport, along with images of their boarding pass. The family includes two young children aged 5 and 3 years, making the prolonged wait at the airport particularly distressing. She separately appealed to the public to check whether anyone on the same flight may have come across the missing documents. 'Please check if you or anyone you know travelled in the same flight. Even the smallest lead can help us reunite with our documents,' she wrote.
What Comes Next
As of the time of reporting, there was no official response from the Ministry of External Affairs or the Indian Consulate in Hong Kong. Replacement travel documents for stranded Indian nationals abroad typically require coordination between the nearest Indian diplomatic mission and local immigration authorities — a process that can take anywhere from a few hours to several days. The case has drawn attention to the vulnerability of Indian travellers in transit hubs when critical documents are lost.
Point of View
Who then had to publicly nudge the External Affairs Minister, reveals a gap between the formal consular helpline system and its actual reach. The Ministry of External Affairs operates a 24-hour helpline for distressed Indians abroad, yet the family's first instinct was social media escalation. That gap deserves scrutiny beyond this individual case.
NationPress
5 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened to the Indian family stranded at Hong Kong Airport?
A Telugu family travelling from Hyderabad to Chicago via Hong Kong lost a bag containing two Indian passports and two US passports during their journey on Cathay Pacific flight CX 672 on 2 July. They have been stranded at Hong Kong Airport for over 52 hours, with two young children aged 5 and 3.
Who is Nara Lokesh and why did he intervene?
Nara Lokesh is the Andhra Pradesh Minister for Human Resources Development and Information Technology, and son of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. He intervened after Rajeswari Bolla tagged him on X seeking help, and he publicly appealed to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to provide immediate assistance.
What documents did the family lose?
The family lost a bag containing two Indian passports and two US passports during their transit from Hyderabad to Hong Kong. They have appealed to fellow passengers on the same flight to check if they came across the missing documents.
What assistance is available for Indians stranded abroad without passports?
Indians stranded abroad without passports can contact the nearest Indian diplomatic mission — in this case, the Indian Consulate in Hong Kong — for emergency travel documents. The Ministry of External Affairs also operates a 24-hour helpline for distressed Indian nationals overseas.
Has the Ministry of External Affairs responded to the appeal?
As of the time of reporting, no official response from the Ministry of External Affairs or the Indian Consulate in Hong Kong had been publicly confirmed. Minister Lokesh's appeal to EAM Jaishankar was made on 5 July.
