NEW DELHI:
Amid the severe heatwave in Delhi, an Air India flight to San Francisco from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport was delayed for over 20 hours due to multiple reasons. Flight AI 183, originally scheduled to take off at 3:20 on Thursday, will depart at 11 am today.
During the inordinate delay, the passengers were allegedly made to wait without proper air-conditioning, causing several flyers to faint.
Reporting about the delay, a passenger Shweta Punj took to X and said that it was only after some passengers fainted that the airline allowed others to exit the aircraft.
“If there is a privatisation story that has failed it is Air India. DGCA [aviation regulator] AI 183 flight was delayed for over eight hours, passengers were made to board the plane without air-conditioning and then deplaned after some people fainted in the flight. This is inhuman,” Punj posted on Thursday, tagging Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Another social media user named Amadro also took to X to raise his grievance and said his “mother has been stuck there”. He claimed that “no dinner” and “assistance of any kind” were provided to the passengers.
AIR INDIA’S RESPONSE
Responding to Punj’s post, Air India said: “Dear Ms. Punj, we truly regret to note the disruptions. Please rest assured that our team is actively working to address the delay and appreciates your ongoing support and understanding. We are also alerting our team to provide necessary assistance to the passengers.”
The airline also responded to Amadro’s post and stated, “Hi, we regret to note the discomfort caused. We always try to avoid delays and the cancellation of flights. Our team is trying its best to minimise the inconvenience caused. We are alerting our airport team to provide the necessary assistance.”
DELHI WEATHER AND AIR INDIA FLIGHT DELAYS
Delhi is experiencing a severe heatwave, with the temperature reaching a record 52.9 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.
This was the second incident in less than a week when an Air India flight suffered an inordinate delay while passengers were made to wait without proper assistance. Last week, an Air India flight from Mumbai to San Francisco was delayed for over 25 hours. During this time, flyers had to sit inside the passenger cabin for around six hours with poor air conditioning.
