Air India Keeps 70 Passengers 'Trapped' Inside An Aircraft For 3 Long Hours, Before Cancelling The Flight

Seventy passengers, including senior citizens, spent over three frustrating hours inside an aircraft before Air India finally cancelled the Mumbai-Gwalior flight on Sunday, citing poor weather conditions there. The fliers alleged poor treatment and lack of communication by the airline's staff and also claimed the weather was clear in Gwalior.

But an airline spokesperson said it was forced to cancel the flight after the Air Traffic Control refused to grant permission to fly over poor visibility in Gwalior. The official also said alternative travel options, including new air tickets, were offered to the passengers.

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The Mumbai-Gwalior flight was scheduled to take off at 10.30 am on Sunday. The national carrier usually flies an ATR plane on the route, but it developed a snag, prompting AI officials to make a switch to an Airbus, a much bigger aircraft.

Vidya N, who had travelled all the way from Bangalore, described the events that left passengers baffled at first, then furious.

"I landed in Mumbai at 8.15 am and I have informed the flight to Gwalior was on time. I boarded at 10.10 am. The plane was supposed to take off at 10.30 am, but there was no movement till 11.30 am," she said.

"At 11.45 am, they [Air India staff] said they were waiting for the caption. Around 12.30 pm, the captain said they were waiting for ATC clearance from Gwalior.Everyone was hungry."

Refreshments were served, but the passengers still had no idea when the aircraft would take off. Around 1.30 pm, it was announced that the flight had been cancelled because of unfavourable weather in Gwalior. A passenger then phoned his son, who works with the Air Force in Gwalior, and learned that the visibility was 6 km in MP's tourist capital.

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Vidya said the fliers then demanded to see the manager, but no one showed up till 2.30 pm. "We were still not allowed to leave the aircraft. Some elderly people wanted help, but they, too, had to stay inside," she said.

"The staff finally offered to arrange a flight to Delhi, from where a bus organised by the airline would take passengers to Gwalior."

But many people turned the offer down over safety and other concerns. Everyone on board exited the plane around 2.30 pm. Many passengers stormed into Air India's shift office, demanding a detailed explanation for the flight cancellation and the delay in making the announcement.

Jyoti Choubey, whose father is admitted to a Gwalior hospital, said AI officers were indifferent towards her problems. Another passenger, pharmaceutical consultant Avinash Baadkar, had to call off an important meeting because of the flight cancellation.

"The ATR plane developed a snag and then the Airbus also had some problems, so Air India cancelled the flight claiming visibility was poor," he said. "It was a terrible experience. Just imagine, many of us were at Mumbai airport from 8 am to 5 pm."

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The airline has provided Baadkar with a ticket on a flight to Delhi.

"Mumbai and Delhi are expensive cities to stay overnight. I took a flight back to Bangalore as I didn't want to get stuck in Mumbai," Vidya said. The airline arranged the ticket for her.

The airline spokesperson blamed the weather in Gwalior. "We operate an ATR aircraft on the Mumbai-Surat-Gwalior route. On Sunday, it developed a snag.While the Surat leg was immediately cancelled, we tried to use an Airbus 319 to ensure passengers reached Gwalior," the official said.

"After a two-hour wait when the Air Traffic Control failed to give us a clearance due to weather-related issues, we had to cancel the flight without much choice."