BENGALURU: An Air Asia India flight from Bengaluru to Bhubaneswar departed 5 hours and 40 minutes late on Tuesday putting passengers to much inconvenience. Flight No IS 1455, scheduled to leave at 4.35 pm, finally departed from the Bengaluru airport at 10.15 pm.
Passengers were repeatedly given incorrect information about the departure time, said a flyer. “A middle-aged passenger told me the flight was postponed four times and he will request a full refund of the ticket money,” she told TNIE.
Another passenger said she got a message that the flight had been postponed, the flyer. “She told me she landed at the airport at the rescheduled time only to be told that it was postponed yet again. It was dinner time by then and many of us were unprepared. We are senior citizens and the airline does not seem to understand some of the challenges associated with our health,” she quoted the flyer as telling her.
The official handle responded on Twitter that the flight was delayed due to operational reasons. An Air Asia representative did not reply to a query in this connection.
Missing pilot
After boarding was completed for an Indigo flight (6E 5204) from Bengaluru to Mumbai on Monday night, people realised that the pilot had not yet got on board the plane. Deepak tweeted, “Departure time 11 pm, boarding completed but pilot is missing. No information by crew member when pilot will come. Majak bana ke rakh diya hai.” He added in a second tweet: It is 11.40 pm, no updates. This is a kind of torture to all passengers and if somebody will get angry, you will ban him.
Another passenger Mahesh Bhagtani tweeted: “Horrible. Disgusting. No announcement, no update. Indigo’s Twitter handle said unanticipated schedule changes become inevitable. Our team is working hard to expedite the departure.” Indigo did not respond even after a day to queries sent by this reporter.