=NEW DELHI: Over 200 passengers aboard Indigo flight from Chandigarh to Dubai (6E 1481) were forced to remain seated inside their plane for six hours as the flight did not take-off due to operational issues and a crew change.
Suneel Kashyap, an engineer, told TNIE, "My wife was on board the flight. It was supposed to depart at 4.25 pm from Chandigarh. Six hours later, the flight had not yet taken off. No one was allowed to deboard too. Passengers had a tough time as all the toilets were stinking due to repeated use by everyone on board."
The flight to Dubai is nearly four hours. Kashyap added, "While they were seated, the pilots walked away stating their duty time was over. Another batch of pilots had to be arranged was what my wife called and told me."
He posted about the situation on board the flight on X calling it as "a pathetic state of affairs."
An Indigo source conceded there was a considerable delay. "The flight could not leave on time due to operational reasons. And because of the delay, the duty time of the crew had exceeded. So another fresh crew team had to be arranged which took some more time. So, this caused considerable delay."
The source added, "The passengers were allowed to remain in the flight only. Boarding and deboarding them would have taken much more time. We offered the passengers refreshments and catered to all their requirements. Most of them were satisfied. They were also constantly updated on the delay and the reasons."