Fog delay: 200 flyers stuck on Delhi Pune plane for over 7 hours

Fog delay: 200 flyers stuck on Delhi Pune plane for over 7 hours

Joy.Sengupta@timesofindia.com 05.01.2025

Pune : Severe fog and low visibility disrupted flight operations across major airports, including Delhi and Pune, leading to a harrowing experience for around 200 passengers on a Delhi-Pune Air India Express flight (IX-1176). The flyers, including senior citizens, were kept on the plane for seven-and-a-half hours before being deboarded and asked to repeat the security check process at Delhi airport. Scheduled to depart at 9.40pm Friday and arrive at 11.50pm, the flight finally took off at 7.30am Saturday, landing in Pune at 10am — more than 10 hours behind schedule. 

An official response from the airline is awaited. Pune resident Ambadas Gawande, who was traveling with his family, described the ordeal. “First, there was a delay of half an hour. All passengers boarded the aircraft by 10pm. When the aircraft did not fly even after an hour, flyers asked the crew members what was the problem. One of them said visibility was a major problem because of fog. Some flyers lost their cool after patiently sitting in the aircraft for more than two hours,” he said. As frustration among the flyers grew, the cabin crew assured that the flight would take off soon.

 “But it never happened. Many passengers, mostly senior citizens, wanted to go back to the terminal building to sit and rest comfortably. But that was not to be. There were frequent arguments between the flyers and the crew members. We all understood that the aircraft wouldn't take off because of the fog. But there was no logic behind keeping us seated in the plane for more than seven hours,” Gawande said. Around 5.30am Saturday, passengers were abruptly told to deboard the aircraft due to a technical issue. 

“After coming out of the plane, we were huddled into buses. The vehicles moved around the area for a while and dropped us at the terminal building. Then we were told to go through the security check again. The whole thing took around two hours. Surprisingly, we boarded the same aircraft again,” he said. The delays coincided with disruptions in flight operations caused by fog. 

Over 32 flights to and from Pune were delayed between midnight and noon Saturday, with almost all flights to and from Delhi delayed by three to five hours. A passenger flying from Pune to Delhi described the chaotic situation at Pune airport. “With almost all flights delayed, it was total chaos in the security check area. The new terminal building isn't equipped to handle so much crowd. People had to stand for hours for their flights. There was no proper communication from the airlines, which worsened the situation,” he said. Hashim Ansari, who was at Pune airport at 6am, shared a video on X, writing: “No proper facilities to sit and rest. People are seated on carpets.”