Passengers on board an Air India flight to Bhubaneswar had to spend more than an hour without A/C and water due to a reported technical snag
Passengers on board an Air India flight to Bhubaneswar had to spend more than an hour without A/C and water due to a reported technical snag
With more than 50 cancellations a day, you should count yourself lucky if you get to board an Air India flight to your destination.
Around 120 passengers headed to Bhubaneswar thanked their stars that the ongoing strike by Air India pilots did not affect their travel schedule. However, they were in for a shock.
The IC 877 was delayed by around half hour from its scheduled departure time at 11.55 am. "We were asked to board the aircraft at 12.30 pm and then it seemed as if the crew had forgotten the plane," Satyajit Sinha, one of the passengers, told MiD DAY.
|
|
Satyajit Sinha with his wife
Pic/MiD DAY |
"Till 1.45 pm there was nobody to attend to the passengers. The air-conditioning system was not working and we did not even get water. It was really horrible especially for those who were traveling with kids," said Sinha, who was traveling with his two children and wife.
Another passenger, wishing anonymity, leveled similar allegations.
When the agitated passengers raised a cry, a technical staff informed them that the plane had developed a technical snag and they would be shifted to another plane.
"We were finally de-boarded at 1.45 pm and got on another plane," added Sinha, who works with a real estate major.
The alternative flight finally took off for Bhubaneswar at 3 pm.
"How can they behave so irresponsibly?" asked Sinha.
He also alleged that a number of passengers had to cancel bookings for their onward journey. "I had to cancel my train booking and hire a taxi, instead," Sinha claimed.u00a0
Repeated phone calls to Air India spokesperson Jitendra Bhargava went unanswered. He also did not reply to SMS and email queries.
