Passengers of AI's 8-hour delayed Delhi-Pune flight sit 3 hours in stationary aircraft

Time of India

4 hours ago

Pune: Three hours in a stationary aircraft amid poor air-conditioning, followed by over an eight-hour delay. Close to 150 flyers booked on an Air India's Delhi-Pune flight (AI-2973) were hassled to the hilt on Monday night.
These after Shivane's Amol Rokade spent almost Rs1 lakh for the tickets. His parents were booked in the business class. He and his sister had premium economy seats.
Rokade said, "The flight was supposed to take off from Delhi at 8.50pm and land in Pune at 11.05pm on Monday. We were finally airborne in a different aircraft at 5.40am on Tuesday and reached the city at 7.45am."
TOI contacted a spokesperson of Air India and sent a query about the flyers' ordeal through a WhatsApp message.
An official reply was awaited till going to press.
An official of the airline said the flight got delayed because of a technical reason. A source in the airline said hotel accommodation and alternative flights were offered to the passengers.
Rokade said, "We were initially told that the flight was delayed by 20 minutes because the incoming plane from Mumbai was delayed. The boarding got over by 9.30pm. After taxiing for a while, the aircraft stopped.
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It remained like that for around half-an-hour. Cabin crew said some checks were on."
The flyer said, "After an hour, the pilot said there were some technical problems in the engine and a team of engineers would check these. The engineers took around 40-45 minutes to come. They said after 15 minutes the plane was ready for take-off, but it didn't move for another half-an-hour. We saw the ladder being attached to the aircraft door.
Again the checks started. It was 12.30am by then."
Rokade said, "There was no provision of any refreshments. The AC was being shut down frequently. Flyers lost cool and demanded they should be deboarded. After altercations, some passengers were made to exit the aircraft through the rear door. Finally, all passengers were deboarded from the aircraft at 12.45am."
The Air India's staffers told the passengers that an alternative aircraft was being arranged and it would fly out at 2am.
"We were told to rush to the terminal building in Delhi, but the coaches came after around half-an-hour. We returned to the airport, completed the check-in and security checks again, and proceeded to gate number 27B. The flight time displayed was 2am. But no aircraft came till 4am," Rokade said.
After serving some refreshments, the airline's staffers told the passengers that the alternative aircraft needed some checks.
The boarding time was revised to 4.30am and the boarding began at 4am.
Rokade said, "When we were hoping that the plane would fly soon, some flyers said they won't travel on it citing safety concerns. The airline staffers had to let them go with their luggage. The whole process took an hour. The aircraft finally flew from Delhi at 5.40am. We lost about 12 hours dealing with the airline's mess.
Sule tweets on AI plane delay
Baramati MP Supriya Sule on Tuesday wrote on X that the Air India's flight she was travelling by was delayed by over three hours and flyers were stranded without any information.
"Travelling from Delhi to Pune on Air India flight AI2971. The flight is delayed by over 3 hours — no clear communication, no update, no assistance and very bad service. Such delays and mismanagement are becoming a norm with Air India. Passengers are left stranded and helpless. This apathy is unacceptable. Travellers deserve better," she said.
Replying to her, Union civil aviation minister Ram Mohan Naidu wrote on X, "I have spoken to the airline and airport authorities. They have been urgently asked to address the concerns of all affected passengers."