An Air India flight from Delhi to San Francisco was delayed by more than eight hours on Thursday, causing some people to faint while they waited inside the aircraft without air conditioning, passengers claimed. Several people took to X to share their plight, with visuals they shared showing fliers waiting in what appeared to be the alley leading to the aircraft.
Journalist Shweta Punj said on X that the Air India flight was late by over 8 hours, and passengers “were made to board the plane and sit without air conditioning” at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. After some people fainted, she claimed the passengers were asked to exit the plane.
She tagged Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in her post and called the entire ordeal “inhuman”.
“If there is a privatisation story that has failed, it is Air India. The DGCA [aviation regulator] AI 183 flight has been delayed for over eight hours. Passengers were made to board the plane without air conditioning and then deplaned after some people fainted in the flight. This is inhuman,” Shweta Punj tweeted.
In response to her post, Air India assured her of “necessary assistance to the passengers”.
“We truly regret to note the disruptions. Please rest assured that our team is actively working to address the delay and appreciates your ongoing support and understanding. We are also alerting our team to provide necessary assistance to the passengers,” the airlines responded.
A social media user named Amadro also took to X, claiming his mother was stuck at the airport due to the delay and that “no dinner” and “assistance of any kind” were provided to the passengers.
Another user, Abhishek Sharma, urged the airline to take swift action and asked them to let his parents, along with numerous other parents stranded at the boarding area, go home.
Air India responded to both, apologising for the “inconvenience” and “discomfort” caused to the passengers. The airlines also assured them of the necessary assistance from their ground team.
This is not the first time that prolonged delays have marred Air India flights, enraging passengers. Earlier this month, on an Air India flight from Mumbai to San Francisco, people had to sit inside the passenger cabin for around six hours with poor air conditioning.
The latest incident came amid a scorching heatwave in Delhi and the rest of North India, with mercury levels soaring up to record levels.
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