PUNE: Over 100 flyers booked on a Delhi-Pune AIX Connect (Air Asia) flight on Monday evening spent over an hour-and-a-half sitting in the aircraft because its take-off was delayed after taxiing some distance due to bad weather condition.
The flight (I5-721) was to take off from Delhi at 9pm and land in Pune around 11pm. Santosh Gupta, one of the passengers in the flight, told TOI that the boarding started around 10pm, an hour after its scheduled departure time. “The boarding was completed by 10.20pm and the aircraft’s gates were closed. The plane started taxiing but stopped before reaching the runway,” he said.
He said there was no communication for around 10-15 minutes. “Then the pilot announced that there was a thunderstorm situation and the flight’s take-off had been stalled. We thought that we would have to wait for a little time, but that was not to be. Some flyers sought some refreshments, including water, but the crew didn’t provide the same. We kept sitting in the aircraft for an hour without any information or update,” Gupta said.
The aircraft finally took off around 11.50pm and landed in Pune at 1.40am on Tuesday.
“The take-off was quite rough and turbulent, frightening a section of already frustrated passengers. Airlines are just taking high fares from flyers, which doubles during the festive season. But they lack in providing basic facilities,” Gupta said.
TOI sent a detailed e-mail and a WhatsApp message to the airline in the early hours of Tuesday enquiring about the flyers’ ordeal. A reply was awaited till late in the night.
Another flyer travelling to the city in the same flight stressed that they should have been transferred back to the terminal building when the take-off was delayed. “What is the reason behind making us sit in the aircraft for so long? There are options of food and drinks in the terminal building and it is an open space. Many flyers requested the cabin crew to shift them to the terminal building. There were some heated arguments too. After a lot of deliberation, the crew started providing water to flyers, but it was not enough. Airlines need to stop taking flyers for granted as we pay huge fares,” the flyer said.
In September this year, more than 100 flyers from Delhi to Pune on an Air India flight were made to sit in the aircraft for two hours after boarding in the absence of the pilot. A similar incident occurred involving an Air India flight from Delhi to Pune in November last year.
The flight (I5-721) was to take off from Delhi at 9pm and land in Pune around 11pm. Santosh Gupta, one of the passengers in the flight, told TOI that the boarding started around 10pm, an hour after its scheduled departure time. “The boarding was completed by 10.20pm and the aircraft’s gates were closed. The plane started taxiing but stopped before reaching the runway,” he said.
He said there was no communication for around 10-15 minutes. “Then the pilot announced that there was a thunderstorm situation and the flight’s take-off had been stalled. We thought that we would have to wait for a little time, but that was not to be. Some flyers sought some refreshments, including water, but the crew didn’t provide the same. We kept sitting in the aircraft for an hour without any information or update,” Gupta said.
The aircraft finally took off around 11.50pm and landed in Pune at 1.40am on Tuesday.
“The take-off was quite rough and turbulent, frightening a section of already frustrated passengers. Airlines are just taking high fares from flyers, which doubles during the festive season. But they lack in providing basic facilities,” Gupta said.
TOI sent a detailed e-mail and a WhatsApp message to the airline in the early hours of Tuesday enquiring about the flyers’ ordeal. A reply was awaited till late in the night.
Another flyer travelling to the city in the same flight stressed that they should have been transferred back to the terminal building when the take-off was delayed. “What is the reason behind making us sit in the aircraft for so long? There are options of food and drinks in the terminal building and it is an open space. Many flyers requested the cabin crew to shift them to the terminal building. There were some heated arguments too. After a lot of deliberation, the crew started providing water to flyers, but it was not enough. Airlines need to stop taking flyers for granted as we pay huge fares,” the flyer said.
In September this year, more than 100 flyers from Delhi to Pune on an Air India flight were made to sit in the aircraft for two hours after boarding in the absence of the pilot. A similar incident occurred involving an Air India flight from Delhi to Pune in November last year.