As pilots fail to turn up, flyers wait inside aircraft for two hours
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai:07.04.2019
Passengers of a Chennai-Delhi Indigo flight (6E 2976) had a tough time after they were forced to remain inside the parked aircraft for about two hours as the pilots failed to turn up on time on Saturday morning.
As the airline staff struggled to arrange an alternative, the cabin crew offered snacks and beverages to the passengers.
The flight, which was scheduled to depart at 6.30am, finally took off at 8am. Passengers boarded the flight at 6am via shuttle buses. “There was an update about 30 minutes after the flight was supposed to take off that there was going to be a delay due to operational reasons,” said Ankita Bose, a passenger.
On further questioning, the crew said the pilot wasn’t unavailable and then that he was at the international terminal going through customs. Passengers began to get agitated as there was no clarity about the reason or how long they would have to wait, she said. The air conditioning worked intermittently and a few passengers complained of stuffiness.
A statement from Indi-Go said, “Due to operational reasons, an alternative crew was required to be arranged to operate this flight. This caused a delay of one hour and 36 minutes. Our crew kept the passengers informed of the delay. We regret the inconvenience caused to the passengers.” An airport official said, “In such situations, airlines try to bring in the alternative crew as quickly as possible and operate the flight because disembarking of passengers will mean further delay and loss of take-off slot for the flight during the early morning peak hour.”
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Chennai:07.04.2019
Passengers of a Chennai-Delhi Indigo flight (6E 2976) had a tough time after they were forced to remain inside the parked aircraft for about two hours as the pilots failed to turn up on time on Saturday morning.
As the airline staff struggled to arrange an alternative, the cabin crew offered snacks and beverages to the passengers.
The flight, which was scheduled to depart at 6.30am, finally took off at 8am. Passengers boarded the flight at 6am via shuttle buses. “There was an update about 30 minutes after the flight was supposed to take off that there was going to be a delay due to operational reasons,” said Ankita Bose, a passenger.
On further questioning, the crew said the pilot wasn’t unavailable and then that he was at the international terminal going through customs. Passengers began to get agitated as there was no clarity about the reason or how long they would have to wait, she said. The air conditioning worked intermittently and a few passengers complained of stuffiness.
A statement from Indi-Go said, “Due to operational reasons, an alternative crew was required to be arranged to operate this flight. This caused a delay of one hour and 36 minutes. Our crew kept the passengers informed of the delay. We regret the inconvenience caused to the passengers.” An airport official said, “In such situations, airlines try to bring in the alternative crew as quickly as possible and operate the flight because disembarking of passengers will mean further delay and loss of take-off slot for the flight during the early morning peak hour.”
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