CHENNAI: An Air India pilot’s desire to have appam with prawn curry for lunch triggered a chain of events that led to an inordinate delay in his flight taking off, sources said on Sunday. The Kochi-origin IC-519 on August 29 was bound for Chennai via Bangalore.
The nearly seven-hour delay — the carrier took off with 138 passengers only at 9 pm as against the scheduled departure of 2.15 pm — prompted angry passengers to kick up a ruckus outside the AI duty manager’s office at the Kochi airport at 5.30 pm.
But Captain Dinakaran had caused enough damage by then. After piloting IC-509, which landed at Kochi at 11.30 am, he was supposed to fly IC-519 out at 2.15 pm. “When the crew members were taken for lunch to Hotel Abad, which is a fiveminute drive away, the captain demanded appam with prawn curry without touching anything on the buffet spread,” an airline source in Kochi revealed.
When appam and prawn curry was served at his table after some time, he refused to eat it. Then he refused to operate the flight saying he had not had lunch.
“The flight was rescheduled for a 4 pm take off, but the captain failed to show up,” a passenger told Express.
After finishing his meal at the airport restaurant at 4.30 pm, Capt Dinakaran reportedly said that he was stressed out and fatigued.
This enraged the passengers, who created a ruckus. At this, AI duty managers literally fell at the captain’s feet and he agreed to operate the flight that was set for takeoff at 7.30 pm, sources said.
By then, an overused battery power unit of the aircraft drained out and a new one had to be flown in from Chennai. So the flight could take off only at 9 pm, a Kochi airport source said.
That delay had a cascading effect with AI unable to operate three other flights, including one to an international destination, on time that day, airline sources said.