Amid the severe heatwave in Delhi, an Air India flight to San Francisco from the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport was delayed for over 24 hours due to multiple reasons after passengers were allegedly made to board the flight and sit without any air conditioning, causing several flyers to faint.
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.
Taking note of the incident, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a show cause notice to Air India for inordinate delay of at least two international flights and failure to take due care of passengers.
The DGCA mentioned about the inordinate delay of two international flights — AI 183 from Delhi to San Francisco on May 30 and AI 179 from Mumbai to San Francisco on May 24. Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia took cognisance of the flight delays and inconvenience caused to passengers, following which the DGCA issued the show cause notice.
AI 183, which was to depart from Delhi at 1530 IST on May 30, was rescheduled after a 24 hours delay on May 31. There were around 200 passengers onboard the Boeing 777 aircraft that was to operate flight AI 183.
Several passengers fainted inside the aircraft, passengers claimed on social media. Visuals posted by many other passengers show people including children sitting on the floor. They appear exhausted.
One passenger shared their experience, saying, "People were made to board the plane and sit without AC. Then I was deplaned and not allowed to enter the terminal because immigration was done."
While sharing the ordeal on social media platform X, journalist Shweta Punj claimed that the passengers were made to board the AI183 New Delhi- San Francisco Air India flight and sit without air-conditioning. The airline deplaned the passengers after some fliers fainted on the flight at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.
"If there is a privatisation story that has failed it is @airindia @DGCAIndia AI 183 flight has been delayed for over 8 hours , passengers were made to board the plane without air conditioning, and then deplaned after some people fainted in the flight. This is inhuman @JM_Scindia," she said.
However, the airline responded to the passenger, regretting the inconvenience and said it's working to provide necessary assistance to the passengers.
"Dear Punj, we truly regret to note the disruptions. Please be rest assured that our team is actively working to address the delay and appreciate your ongoing support and understanding. We are also alerting our team to provide necessary assistance to the passengers," Air India said.
Another user, Abhishek Sharma (@39Abhishek) urged the airline for swift action and drew its attention to let his parents and "numerous other parents" stranded at the boarding area to go home. However, the airline official claimed that passengers were offered the options of full refund, complimentary rescheduling and hotel accommodation.
"Repeated incidences of passengers being put to discomfort by M/s Air India in violation of various DGCA CAR (Civil Aviation Requirements) provisions have come to notice," the DGCA said in a statement on Friday.
"It has come to the notice of DGCA that flight Al-179 dated 24.05.2024 and flight Al-183 dated 30.05.2024 were inordinately delayed and passengers were put to discomfort due to insufficient cooling in the cabin. Further, repeated incidents of passengers being put to discomfort by M/s Air India in violation of various DGCA CAR provisions have come to notice," the DGCA notice read. The DGCA has given Air India three days to respond on the matter or face potential enforcement action.
It said Air India has "time and again" failed in taking due care of passengers and compliance of aforementioned Civil Aviation Requirements. The DGCA's notice also cites violations of aviation regulations, particularly regarding passenger care during delays.
