Passengers of an Air India flight from Delhi, delayed for 16 hours, were seen in visuals lying down along an aerobridge corridor and many complained about fainting inside the plane without air-conditioning.
The San Francisco-bound Air India flight AI 183 will take off at 3 pm today, 24 hours after its original scheduled departure from Delhi. The plane was replaced, according to officials.
The flight was delayed "due to the operational reasons" and by the time the issue was resolved, flight duty time limitations kicked in, Air India sources told NDTV.
Rescheduling and refund options have been given to the passengers, the sources said.
A passenger, Suman Arora, claimed that an elderly woman fainted on the plane due to the extreme heat.
"We were made to board the plane after 8 pm, and the AC was not working. An elderly lady on the plane fainted due to the heat and was taken to a hospital," said Ms Arora.
"Later, we were told to leave for the hotel, and the flight was rescheduled for 11 am today, but no update was given to us."
On Thursday, a passenger had posted on social media that some people fainted inside the aircraft, which had no air-conditioning, after a delay of over eight hours.
Shweta Punj, a journalist, said in a post on X that flight No. AI 183 was delayed by over eight hours, and "people were made to board the plane and sit without air-conditioning".
Air India's X handle responded to her, saying their "team is actively working to address the delay."
Images posted by many other passengers on social media showed people, including children and the elderly, sitting on the floor, with some even taking off their shoes. They appeared exhausted.
Delhi is experiencing a severe heatwave, along with many other parts of the country.
In January, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued guidelines to handle chaotic situations after a huge rush was seen due to fog at Delhi airport. The DGCA, in the standard operating procedure (SOP) for "facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights, and delays in flights," said that airlines may cancel flights that are likely to be delayed or "consequentially delayed" beyond three hours. The DGCA had said all airlines must follow the SOP immediately.
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