Air India doesn't spare even the Chief Minister of Maharashtra

When it comes to ending VIP culture Air India could turn out to be an accidental champion For not only did the airlinersquos officials make Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wait for a flight on Friday night they waited till 20 minutes after the planersquos scheduled takeoff time to inform him that it wasnrsquot going anywhere anytime soonAirline officials cite shortage of crewmembers for the delays on the national carrier File picAuthorities from the national carrier then made the CM who had to get to Delhi urgently and his convoy rush to T2 to take another flight which was also delayed by 14 minutes The reason the first flight was delayed was that the pilot was not available despite AI officials knowing that Fadnavis was going to be travelling on itThe other flight Fadnavis was accommodated on was also delayed by 14 minutes File picGetty ImagesGoofupOn Friday Fadnavis had checked in and was waiting to board AI 605 which was scheduled to depart for Delhi at 9 pm At 920 pm he was informed that the flight would not be taking off anytime soon He was not told when the flight would take offAn airline official confirmed that the assigned pilot Amit Karunakaran could not report for the flight which was supposed to fly with 161 adult passengers including the CM two infants and six crew members as his mandated rest period was not overldquoThe pilots follow a roster list showing turns of duty or leave and it seems that the pilot was yet to complete his rest period due to which he insisted that he would be able to report only by 10 pmrdquo said a senior AI official Fadnavis was then given the option of heading to the international terminal T2 and board AI 101 which was scheduled to leave at 930 pmldquoI had to wait for a long time to board the flight and the airline informed me that it wasnrsquot going to take off anytime soon due to nonavailability of the pilot I had to however reach Delhi urgently and hence when they said they could accommodate me on AI 101 I left for T2 to board the flight without thinking twicerdquo the chief minister told middayThe CM and his convoy got to T2 where they realised that even the other flight was delayed by 14 minutes Fadnavis finally took flight aboard AI 101 at 944 pm ldquoIf this can happen to me I can only imagine what the other passengers must be going throughI am going to speak to the Union aviation minister regarding the issues related to Air India soonrdquo said Fadnavis evidently dismayed by the services of the MaharajaProblems galoreConfirming the incident a senior AI official said ldquoFadnavis was informed about the nonavailability of the pilot only at 920 pm after which the CM and his convoy had to be shifted from the domestic terminal to the international terminalA crewmember from the airline said ldquoSix pilots have resigned last week adding to the critical staff shortage Crew members are upset that their flying schedule is suddenly changed without giving them enough time to rest before flying againThis takes a toll on us and hence the cases of crew members being rude to passengers are increasing We are human beings after all and get tired when we are on duty without any rest The airline has to take quick decisions on improving the system to get more passengersrdquoAsked why there was no pilot on standby a senior AI official said ldquoEarlier the airline had pilots on standby around the clock in eighthour shifts to operate flights if such situations occurred The shortage of crewmembers has however ensured that this practice is completely stopped nowrdquo