CHENNAI: Hundreds of passengers were stranded at Chennai International Airport on Tuesday after two Air India flights to Delhi and Mumbai were significantly delayed due to “operational issues”.
Flight AI 2836 to Delhi was delayed by more than five hours. Several passengers claimed they were asked to disembark from the flight, originally scheduled to take off at 11:20 am, after being kept on board for over 90 minutes.
One traveller, S Kothandaraman, posted on X that the flight had been grounded due to “technical difficulties” and that the crew informed the passengers that they were waiting for a spare part from Delhi. “The announcement came at 11:53 am, after we had already been seated for more than an hour,” he wrote, estimating around 180 passengers were on board.
Air India later attributed the delay to “operational reasons”. The flight eventually departed around 5.06pm, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Another Air India flight, AI0574 scheduled for 11.40 am from Chennai to Mumbai, also experienced delay of over five hours. A source said the disruption stemmed from the incoming aircraft being grounded at its origin. Passengers were provided with meals and refreshments, he added.
Responding to the incident, an Air India spokesperson said, “We have accommodated passengers on alternate Air India flights.”