NEW DELHI: In scorching Delhi heat, over 250 passengers on board an Air India flight from Delhi to Patna on Sunday evening had a stressful time as they had to remain seated for over an hour inside their flight with the air-conditioning not functioning. They were all deboarded and finally sent to Patna by an alternate aircraft, three hours and 55 mins later.
A source confirmed the incident on Sunday and told TNIE, "All passengers were made to disembark and sent by an alternate aircraft after due to the AC issue."
The flight AI 2521 was supposed to depart at 4.45 pm from Terminal 3 of IGI airport on May 18. It finally left at 8.35 pm. The flyers reached Patna airport at 10.14 pm instead of 6.25 pm, reveals flight tracking website flightAware.com.
In a video shot by a sweating passenger inside the flight, which was shared by journalist Sukesh Ranjan on social media, the flyer shows visuals inside the flight of suffering passengers on board.
He states,"There are children on board. People are suffering. There is no one to help us out." The 39-second video shows flyers fanning themselves with boarding passes and brochures inside the aircraft.
In response to the video: Air India posted on X: "...Please be assured that we highly value the comfort and safety of our customers, and this matter will be thoroughly reviewed. Additionally, our team has been notified to provide any necessary assistance."
A similar incident was reported aboard Air India Express flight IX1128 from Delhi to Bhubaneswar on May 11 with a video showing passengers removing their shirts too. The airline had responded saying that cabin AC generally feels less effective during boarding and take-off but becomes fully functional after take-off.