RANCHI: A Delhi-bound Air India flight was cancelled on Sunday due to a technical snag, causing a chaotic situation at the airport here, officials said.
Passengers were seen arguing with the airline's staff about rescheduling.
"The AIX (Air India Express) 1200 from Ranchi to Delhi has been cancelled due to a technical issue. While checking the aircraft before takeoff, the technical snag was detected," Airport director RR Maurya told PTI.
The flight was scheduled to take off at 6 pm.
Maurya said some passengers were accommodated on other flights, while several others had their tickets cancelled. A few passengers were rescheduled for Monday, he said.
A 39-year-old passenger, Faiz Anwar, told PTI, "We boarded the flight around 5. 20 pm and waited till 7 pm when all of a sudden we were asked to deboard without providing any reason. I have to attend an important meeting in Delhi tomorrow, but they are not ready to reschedule my flight."
He claimed there were many passengers, who had to catch connecting international flights from Delhi for the UK, the US and South Africa, but no one was there to pay heed to their requests.
"There is complete mismanagement and chaos," he alleged.
Meanwhile, around 30 metres of the boundary wall on the southern side of the Birsa Munda Airport here collapsed on Sunday amid rain for over a month, according to an airport release.
The situation was promptly assessed, and immediate measures have been taken to ensure complete safety and security of the airport premises, it added.
Additional CISF personnel have been deployed to strengthen perimeter security, and the affected section of the wall has been barricaded as a precautionary step, the release said.
"We have already initiated necessary actions to restore the boundary.
Importantly, there has been no impact on airport operations, and all services continue to function smoothly.
The safety and security of our passengers and facilities remain our highest priority," it added.