MUMBAI- Passengers onboard a Tata Air India (AI) flight from Mumbai (BOM) to San Francisco (SFO) endured about six hours inside the cabin with poor air conditioning as their Friday afternoon flight was severely delayed and later canceled.
Air India Flight AI179, which is one the longest flight in the world was scheduled to depart at 2:25 PM, and passengers, including many senior citizens, had boarded by 3:30 PM. Passengers took to social media to complain about the poor air conditioning and lack of updates on the flight status.
Air India San Francisco Flight Canceled
An X (formerly Twitter) user, Devang Desai, posted: “Passengers are stuck inside the flight after reported engine problems. A few passengers decided not to fly. (Air India) Not departing, not giving correct information.”
“Several senior citizens fainted in the heat, and some were allowed to deplane,” sources reported. The remaining passengers were finally disembarked at 9 PM.
According to FlightRadar24 data, the AI179 was scheduled to be operated by Boeing 777-200LR, registered as VT-AEI. This is an ex-Delta Air Lines (DL) operated plane and is around 15 years old.
Official Statement
In a statement, Air India said:
“Flight AI179 from Mumbai to San Francisco, scheduled to depart at 1600 hrs today, was delayed due to a technical issue that arose just before departure. Prioritizing safety, the aircraft was held back for engineering checks.
Meanwhile, a few guests decided to discontinue their journey, causing further delay as their baggage had to be offloaded. The flight was pushed back at 1917 but had to return to the ramp when a passenger fell ill. During the deboarding process for the ailing passenger and their baggage, night landing restrictions at SFO and crew flight duty limitations came into effect.
Guests have been offered hotel accommodations, complimentary rescheduling, full refunds, and refreshments at the airport. The flight has now been rescheduled for 1030 hrs tomorrow. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our guests.”
This is not the first time that such a long delay has occurred on Air India’s flight. Further according to DGCA’s new rule, which requires airlines to cancel their flight and disembark passengers if the delay is more than 3 hours.
DGCA must investigate this incident find out who is at fault here and take strict action against them. Why do passengers who pay thousands if not lakhs for their flights suffer?
Similar Incidents
This year in January, Travelers on two Air India (AI) flights encountered delays totaling over eight hours and an additional two and a half hours, which were attributed to adverse weather conditions at Delhi Airport (DEL).
Similar to this, numerous passengers expressed concerns about being unable to disembark and wait inside the terminal.
The airline later clarified, stating, “The decision was based on the time-consuming process of rechecking and security clearance post-de-boarding, leading them to choose passengers waiting inside the plane.”
The flight cancellation was also attributed to Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) restrictions affecting the crew members.
Consequently, the affected flight was canceled, prompting Air India to offer accommodation options for all passengers.
Last year, an Air India Express (IX) flight to Dubai (DXB) was delayed by around 13 hours.
The airline then deboarded the passenger, and many passengers were forced to stay in the airport the entire night. Subsequently, many passengers reported hardship during the night.
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