Air India flight chaos: Passengers faint amid 20-hour delay

New Delhi, May 31 (IANS) A passenger on an Air India flight bound for San Francisco claimed that several people experienced fainting spells inside the aircraft due to a lack of air conditioning after a delay of more than eight hours.

The flight, originally scheduled for departure on Thursday afternoon, is now set to take off Friday at 11 am, following a delay exceeding 20 hours.

According to Shweta Punj, a journalist who shared the incident on X, Flight No. AI 183 was delayed by more than eight hours on Thursday, with passengers being required to board the plane and endure the discomfort of sitting without air conditioning at Delhi airport.

“If there is a privatisation story that has failed it is @airindia @DGCAIndia AI 183 flight has been delayed for over 8 hours, passengers were made to board the plane without air conditioning, and then deplaned after some people fainted in the flight. This is inhuman!” she said in a series of tweets.

“While growing up I would often travel Air India- when I moved to the US in the mid-2000s..it was my airline of choice..the choice was largely driven by a feeling of homesickness and patriotism. The airline wasn’t as plush but wasn’t as broken either,” she said.

In a tweet on Friday morning, she said that the passengers were sent to a hotel late last night, to be back at 8:00 am to the airport and now they have been asked to go back to the hotel.

“Tatas took over this airline in 2022. In over 2.5 years, the airline has regressed. The situation it created for its passengers could have been grounds for a lawsuit for endangering lives in any other country. But that’s another battle. To those who are victims of fire tragedies because of open violation of rules to those who are victims of inflated hospital bills and school fees.. let’s just say that the consumer class in India is getting crushed,” she said in the tweet.

Meanwhile, Air India in the reply to tweets said that they are working to address the delay.

“Dear Ms. Punj, we truly regret to note the disruptions. Please be rest assured that our team is actively working to address the delay and appreciate your ongoing support and understanding. We are also alerting our team to provide necessary assistance to the passengers,” it said on X.