Delays, lack of information irk flyers on Air India and Akasa Air routes
PUNE: Baner resident Vihang Shaha, who runs an NGO, was in Delhi on Saturday at his friend's place and witnessed firsthand the harrowing experience his friend's daughter went through while travelling from Delhi to Bengaluru on an Air India flight, a Boeing 737 Dreamliner, which came from Sydney.
Shaha, who was also to catch a flight from Delhi to Pune later in the evening, had no clue that his Air India flight, an Airbus A320, would be moderately delayed. "My friend's daughter, Sana Nath, was travelling on AI-427 from Delhi to Bengaluru to meet her husband. Her flight came from Sydney and was to take off from Delhi at 8.30 am and land in Bengaluru by 11.20 am.
"She informed us that the flight was delayed and at around 10 am, the flyers were provided with some snacks and water.
However, the problems had not even begun. All flyers boarded the aircraft at 11 am, but the AC was not working properly, and the aircraft didn't take off. All flyers were made to sit in the aircraft in the sweltering heat until 12.30 pm, and the cabin crew said there was a technical issue with the aircraft. Finally, at around 12.30 pm, instructions were given to the flyers to deboard," Shaha told TOI.
It was a Boeing 737 Dreamliner that crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12, claiming 241 lives.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
오스템 임플란트 받아가세요
임플란터
더 알아보기
Undo
After the incident, the DGCA called for enhanced safety checks on the aircraft.
"The cabin crew said the same to the flyers. At the airport's terminal, flyers waited without food and water until 2.30 pm, after which they boarded again. However, this time too, the aircraft didn't take off, and the same story about enhanced checks was told to flyers. The AC wasn't working, and at 3.15 pm, the passengers were deboarded again, and the flight was cancelled.
The frustrated flyers waited until 4.30 pm to get their luggage and were given the option of either a full refund or to fly on Sunday.
She came back home totally tired and sad due to the ordeal," Shaha said.
A WhatsApp message was sent to an Air India spokesperson, and an official statement was requested. However, a reply from the airline was awaited until the report went to press. An airline source told TOI that the flight was cancelled due to 'operational reasons'.
It was Shaha's turn now to face some hassles. "My Air India flight (AI-2973) was to take off from Delhi at around 8.30 pm. The problem is that most airlines don't provide proper information to flyers, which makes them angry. The flight was delayed for some reasons and flew at around 9.30 pm. It was a short delay, but flyers demanded answers, which the airline didn't provide," Shaha said.
The same evening saw another set of flyers travelling on an Akasa Air flight from Pune to Bengaluru (QP-1318) facing major hassles due to an inordinate delay and lack of proper information.
The flight was supposed to fly from Pune at 10.50 pm and land in Bengaluru by 11.45 pm. "There was no proper information even after multiple delays," a flyer said. Shivani Bhise, another flyer, wrote on X, "The flight has been delayed multiple times to 1.15 am to 2.45 am, but still there is no clarity.
No one has clear answers, just vague promises," she said. The aircraft finally flew at around 3.30 am and landed in Bengaluru at 4.37 am, flightradar24 said.
An airline spokesperson confirmed the incident. "The Akasa Air flight was delayed due to weather-related diversion of the incoming aircraft. Our airport team on the ground kept the passengers informed and arranged refreshments for their comfort. While weather conditions are beyond our control, we sincerely regret the inconvenience caused," the spokesperson told TOI.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
34 minutes ago
- India Today
RAT, Mayday, CVR: Breaking down aviation terms you've heard since Air India crash
Black box. CVR. Flaps. AAIB. are probably some of the terms that you have been bombarded with since the tragic June 12 crash of Air India Flight 171. The crash, which took place less than a minute after take-off, killed 274 people, including 241 passengers and crew on board and over two dozen others on the crash made global headlines not just because of the high death toll, but also because it took place during the critical take-off phase -- when pilots and aircraft systems are under high stress -- and it involved the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, a plane model that previously was never involved in a As investigators pore over AI 171's flight data and debris to identify the cause of the terrible crash, you must have come across a barrage of aviation a simple guide to help you make sense of the terms dominating headlines, air-crash explainers, and media briefings.A BREAK-DOWN OF AVIATION TERMSDreamliner: The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a wide-body, twin-engine, long-haul aircraft designed for fuel efficiency and passenger comfort. Considered to be Boeing's flagship plane, the passenger jet features some of the most advanced safety systems. Until the crash of AI 171, the Dreamliner had a clean safety record, with no fatal incidents in its more than a decade of service. As of January 2025, Boeing has delivered over 1,100 Dreamliner, all of which have clocked in nearly 5 million The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is an Indian agency tasked with probing civil aviation accidents that take place in India or involve aircraft registered in the country. The bureau reports to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and is responsible for identifying the cause of an air crash and making safety recommendations. The AAIB is currently leading the investigation into the Air India A wind-powered lifeline, the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) is a tiny fan-like device that deploys automatically when an aircraft loses power, usually in cases where all engines stop running. The fan deploys from an aircraft's underside and uses the incoming wind to turn and generate emergency power. This powers essential aircraft systems such as hydraulics, cockpit lightning and basic flight controls. Sounds heard in a now-viral video of AI 171's final moments have led to wide speculation that the jet's RAT was deployed, leading to suspicion that a rare dual-engine failure may be the cause of the The Flight Data Recorder records detailed information about an aircraft's systems. These include speed, altitude, direction of flight, engine performance and more. It stores hundreds of parameters, logging the final hours of a flight to give investigators a peek into the aircraft's condition just before a The second 'black box', a Cockpit Voice Recorder does just what the name suggests: Capture audio from the cockpit, including conversations between pilots, background sounds, alarms, and communications with air traffic control. It's key to understanding how pilots were reacting in the moments leading up to a box: Not actually black in colour, the black box is the informal name for two separate devices: the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR). Together, they are crucial to crash investigations, often surviving extreme conditions (AI 171's black box survived a 1,000 degrees Celsius fire, for example) to provide clues on what happened in the final moments of a flight. It is Aviation geeks' go-to website, Flightradar24, is a real-time flight tracking platform that maps and displays every commercial flight in the world. The platform uses data broadcast by aircraft to plot them on the world map and display information such as speed, altitude and expected time of arrival at the destination. It's a free service with subscriptions for access to premium features. The platform does not display flights that are deliberately blocked by operators, such as certain private, military, or VIP Were AI 171's flaps retracted? That's a big question dominating the aviation world after the Air India crash. Flaps are hinged devices on the wings of an aircraft that extend and retract to change the shape of the wing. During take-off and landing, they are deployed to increase lift at lower speeds. A malfunction in, or an incorrect setting of, the flap system or can be dangerous, especially during take-off or The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is basically the United States' AAIB, except that it investigates all accidents involving public transport. The NTSB is perhaps the most widely known aviation accident probe body, partly due to its regular presence on the popular National Geographic documentary series Air Crash Investigation (also known as Mayday). The NTSB primarily investigates accidents in the US, but also assists in international probes involving American-made aircraft — like the Boeing 787. The NTSB is expected to participate in the AI 171 A call that echoed from AI 171's cockpit, Mayday is the internationally recognised radio distress signal used by pilots and ships during life-threatening emergencies. It is always repeated three times -- 'Mayday, Mayday, Mayday' -- to ensure clarity over the radio and signal the urgent need for Air Traffic Control is a network of ground-based personnel and systems that manage aircraft movement, both on the ground and in the air. ATC guides pilots during take-off, landing and throughout the flight and are tasked with ensuring that planes don't end up in places where they should not be.
The Hindu
35 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Boeing 787 Crash in Ahmedabad Triggers Global Scrutiny of Dreamliner Safety
Published : Jun 16, 2025 17:01 IST - 4 MINS READ As many as three flights involving Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft returned to the port of departure over the past two days in what seems to be a precautionary reaction to the first-ever crash of a 787 aircraft in Ahmedabad soon after take-off on June 12. The Hong Kong-New Delhi Air India Flight 315, which departed from Hong Kong on June 16 after a delay of over three hours, headed back to the airport. When it turned back, the seven-year-old 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft was more than an hour into the flight. It landed safely. On June 15, a British Airways Boeing 787-8 from London's Heathrow and headed to Chennai, returned to London soon after take-off. The captain apparently reported a 'flap adjustment failure' and the aircraft had to dump fuel ahead of landing in London. In the third case, a Hyderabad-bound Lufthansa 787-9 aircraft from Frankfurt had to return to base because of a bomb threat. Obviously the third was not an aircraft issue, but a security-related one. The Ahmedabad incident has prompted a flurry of activity at the Indian and international levels to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it. The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation, which initially contemplated grounding all the 787 Dreamliners, later settled for enhanced inspection of all the aircraft. Also Read | Air India flight crashes in Ahmedabad minutes after takeoff, over 200 feared dead Of 33 such aircraft in Air India's inventory, the process has been completed in as many as 22 aircraft. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is the primary agency handling the investigation. It is assisted by the United Kingdom's Air Accidents Investigation Branch. There is also a Boeing team on the ground in Ahmedabad, along with a team from the National Transportation Safety Board of the US. Union Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu told reporters in Ahmedabad that a report on the accident would be made available in three months. 787 all over the world The 787 series aircraft cannot be wished away suddenly. According to Boeing, the plane has carried a billion passengers as of April 30. '425 plus new, non-stop routes opened, 2,100 flights each day, 30 million plus flight hours,' the company said in a post on its handle on X. There are over 1,100 aircraft of the 787 type in service with airlines across the world. The entire 787 aircraft fleet was once grounded in 2013, its second year of service, after heating problems involving the lithium-ion batteries placed in the aircraft. After extensive investigations and replacement of some crucial equipment, the aircraft was permitted to carry on in business. In 2013, 2014, and in 2017, there were problems with the overheating of the lithium-ion batteries. The problems are cropping up at a time when Boeing is trying to salvage its image following problems with the 737 Max type aircraft. Because of a problem with the planes, which seemed to evade a solution for months, all 737 Max aircraft had to be grounded, leading to huge losses to both Boeing as well as airlines. In May, Boeing opted to settle two cases where two 737 Max aircraft crashed. Also Read | Ahmedabad Dreamliner crash raises new questions about Boeing's safety culture In the US, the image of an emergency exit door flying away from an Alaska Airlines 737 Max aircraft last year is still fresh in memory because of the dramatic manner in which the accident occurred. As with most accidents in the recent past, many passengers captured the scenes with their phones. PR nightmare The public relations nightmare is not new and does not seem to be ending. An Al-Jazeera investigation in 2014 asked some Boeing employees if they would prefer to fly on the Dreamliner and found out that 'of the 15 Boeing workers asked randomly, 10 said they would not fly on a Dreamliner.' The April 2025 depositions in the US Senate did not help Boeing's case either. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg admitted to 'serious missteps' in the recent past and added that the company had learnt its lessons. This year, there were two dramatic air accidents, both in January. On January 29, an American Eagle Flight collided with a US Army helicopter in Washington, DC, killing all 64 on board the plane and three on board the helicopter. Just a day before, an Air Busan Airbus flight caught fire shortly before take-off at Busan. All 176 on board survived. This naturally leads one to ask: How safe is flying? has the answer. 'A recent airline safety study revealed that between 2018 and 2022, the global death risk per flight boarding was approximately one in 13.7 million. In comparison, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated 1.19 million fatalities from road accidents in 2023, equating to more than two deaths per these statistics underscore the relative safety of flying, the loss of over 200 lives in December 2024 alone significantly surpasses the 72 fatalities recorded by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in 2023.'
NDTV
44 minutes ago
- NDTV
Air India Plane Crash Reminds Of Patna's 2000 Aviation Tragedy
The tragic Air India crash in which at least 274 people were killed in Ahmedabad last week brought back the memories of another aviation disaster that rocked the country 25 years ago. As rescue teams pulled out charred bodies and burnt luggage from the London-bound Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 on June 12, India was reminded of the July 17, 2000, crash when Alliance Air Flight 7412 plummeted into Gardanibagh in Patna. Alliance Air Crash 2000 The flight was nearing Patna Airport with 58 people on board. The aircraft, a Boeing 737, had taken off from Kolkata and was scheduled to land in Delhi via Patna. As it approached Runway 25, it became clear something was off. The plane was too high for a safe descent. The pilots requested a 360-degree turn to correct their approach, a standard move under such circumstances. According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aircraft was flying too slow, with idle engines and a sharply pitched-up nose. The stall warning, a vibrating "stick shaker", activated, signalling an imminent loss of lift. Instead of performing standard stall recovery, the pilots attempted a go-around. It was too late. The plane lost control mid-air, dipped violently, and crashed into the crowded Gardanibagh colony. Two houses were flattened. Fire and smoke consumed the area within seconds. Seven passengers were rescued alive from the rear of the aircraft. Four of them later died. Experienced Pilots The cockpit had veterans in command. Captain Arvind Singh Bagga, 31, had logged over 4,000 flying hours. His co-pilot, Captain Manjit Singh Sohanpal, 35, was equally experienced. The experience wasn't enough. The final inquiry concluded that the crew misjudged the approach, reacted too slowly, and fatally mishandled the stall. The official cause was human error. At least 60 people were killed. This included locals crushed beneath the falling fuselage. Where The Plane Fell, A Haunted School Now Stands Today, the crash site is barely recognisable. A government girls' school sits on the land where Flight 7412 came down. A flyover curves past it. New apartment blocks tower nearby. But the past has not been erased. "We used to hear someone crying during the night," said Ravi Ram, a sweeper who lives near the school. "Patna's darkest day," he calls it, reported The Times Of India. "We still used to hear sounds coming from inside the school building after midnight. It appears that someone is walking or running on the terrace or inside the school building," he recalled. Others echo this. "People avoided the area at night," said a resident. "Residents spoke of hearing cries for help at odd hours. Havans and religious ceremonies were performed to calm what many believed were restless souls," he said. Ajay Kumar Singh, a security guard at the under-construction MLC-MLA quarters next to the school, remembers the morning of the crash vividly. "There was a huge thump in the morning, then we saw fire and smoke. I rushed to the site and witnessed the heart-wrenching scene. Even now, we hear strange noises after 1 am. It is like someone thrashing desks and benches inside the school," he recalled. Coming back to the Ahmedabad crash, 241 of the 242 people on board died. The sole survivor was a British-Indian citizen who walked out of the flames and was later admitted to a hospital. He was seated in 11A.
