Passengers suffer at Bengaluru Airport for three hours as Air India flight crew's duty hours end
Passengers, including many infants and foreigners, were stranded at Kempe Gowda International Airport (KIA) for over three hours and finally reached Male 10 hours behind schedule.
Published: 19th January 2019 12:00 AM |
Image of an Air India flight used for representational purpose (File Photo | Reuters)By Arockiaraj Johnbosco & S Lalitha
Express News Service
BENGALURU: A large number of the 161 passengers on board an Air India flight heading to Male from New Delhi via Thiruvananthapuram ended up midway in Bengaluru after a delayed departure from Thiruvananthapuram.
The reason: pilots and co-pilots needed to wind up their duty in accordance with the specific duty hours fixed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Passengers, including many infants and foreigners, were stranded at Kempe Gowda International Airport (KIA) for over three hours and finally reached Male 10 hours behind schedule.
Passengers told 'Express' the pilot stood along with the cabin crew when they were entering the flight at Thiruvananthapuram and informed them that the flight was heading to Bengaluru not Male. They were then assured that a flight from Bengaluru will take them to Male within half-an-hour.
Explaining the chaos, an Air India spokesperson said the intense fog at New Delhi airport was the real culprit.
"Due to foggy conditions, flight No 263, left New Delhi only at 7.20 am instead of 5.50 am. Hence it reached Thiruvananthapuram late."
Due to Flight Data Time Limit rules, a pilot can only fly eight-nine hours.
"It was decided to divert the flight to Bengaluru so that the crew on board could be replaced with a new team," the spokesperson said.
However, since new crew members were not available immediately, passengers had to wait at KIA, he said.
"Air India took good care of its passengers by giving them snacks and refreshments," the spokesperson claimed.
But stranded passengers were not so happy about the delay. Subash Fernando, an exporter of vegetables and fruits to Male from Thiruvananthapuram, was agitated as he missed a scheduled meeting.
"While some passengers were informed that the flight that it would be diverted to Bengaluru, I was not even told that. In knew it only when the pilot announced through in-flight PA system," he said.
There was a lot of commotion but the cabin crew assured them that it would be just a half-an-hour delay.
"To our shock, crew did not change immediately at Bengaluru. Instead, we were all deboarded," he added.
Passengers, including many infants and foreigners, were stranded at Kempe Gowda International Airport (KIA) for over three hours and finally reached Male 10 hours behind schedule.
Published: 19th January 2019 12:00 AM |
Image of an Air India flight used for representational purpose (File Photo | Reuters)By Arockiaraj Johnbosco & S Lalitha
Express News Service
BENGALURU: A large number of the 161 passengers on board an Air India flight heading to Male from New Delhi via Thiruvananthapuram ended up midway in Bengaluru after a delayed departure from Thiruvananthapuram.
The reason: pilots and co-pilots needed to wind up their duty in accordance with the specific duty hours fixed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Passengers, including many infants and foreigners, were stranded at Kempe Gowda International Airport (KIA) for over three hours and finally reached Male 10 hours behind schedule.
Passengers told 'Express' the pilot stood along with the cabin crew when they were entering the flight at Thiruvananthapuram and informed them that the flight was heading to Bengaluru not Male. They were then assured that a flight from Bengaluru will take them to Male within half-an-hour.
Explaining the chaos, an Air India spokesperson said the intense fog at New Delhi airport was the real culprit.
"Due to foggy conditions, flight No 263, left New Delhi only at 7.20 am instead of 5.50 am. Hence it reached Thiruvananthapuram late."
Due to Flight Data Time Limit rules, a pilot can only fly eight-nine hours.
"It was decided to divert the flight to Bengaluru so that the crew on board could be replaced with a new team," the spokesperson said.
However, since new crew members were not available immediately, passengers had to wait at KIA, he said.
"Air India took good care of its passengers by giving them snacks and refreshments," the spokesperson claimed.
But stranded passengers were not so happy about the delay. Subash Fernando, an exporter of vegetables and fruits to Male from Thiruvananthapuram, was agitated as he missed a scheduled meeting.
"While some passengers were informed that the flight that it would be diverted to Bengaluru, I was not even told that. In knew it only when the pilot announced through in-flight PA system," he said.
There was a lot of commotion but the cabin crew assured them that it would be just a half-an-hour delay.
"To our shock, crew did not change immediately at Bengaluru. Instead, we were all deboarded," he added.
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