Rajkot-Delhi flight: Passengers stranded as Air India pilot refuses to fly saying ‘duty over’
Rajkot MP Mohan Kundariya, Jamnagar MP Poonam Maadam, and newly elected Rajya Sabha MP Kesaridevsinh Jhala were among the stranded passengers.
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The passengers waited for two hours before the flight was eventually cancelled and alternate arrangements were made for the stranded passengers to reach their destinations. (Express Photo) Around 100 passengers, including three BJP MPs, were stranded at Rajkot airport Sunday night after they boarded an Air India (AI) flight to Delhi as the pilot refused to fly saying his duty hours were over. The passengers waited for two hours before the flight was eventually cancelled and alternate arrangements were made for the stranded passengers to reach their destinations.
Air India expressing “regret” said in a statement later that the flight was delayed and thus the cockpit crew came under the Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) regulations which was “non-negotiable”.
The incident happened late Sunday evening when passengers boarded an Air India plane around 8.30 pm. Rajkot MP Mohan Kundariya, Jamnagar MP Poonam Maadam, and newly elected Rajya Sabha MP Kesaridevsinh Jhala were among the stranded passengers.
“However, the pilot refused to fly the plane, saying his duty hours were over. We remained on board the plane for two hours, waiting for it to take off. We even talked to officers in Delhi and complained about the situation but to no avail as the pilot said he was too tired to fly any further. Eventually, we alighted from the plane around 10.30 pm,” Kundariya told The Indian Express Monday.
An Air India spokesperson said, “AI404 operating between Rajkot and Delhi late evening on 23rd July 2023 was delayed due to operational reasons. Subsequently the cockpit crew came under the Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) regulations for which they could not operate the flight as per regulatory norms. FDTL regulation is non-negotiable and cannot be compromised due to flight safety reasons”.
The airline later made arrangements for the stranded passengers to reach their destinations. “It offered passengers to arrange for taxis to Ahmedabad to help them catch connecting flights. It also offered full refunds to those who wanted to cancel their flight tickets and offered to accommodate those who didn’t mind flying on rescheduled flights on Monday in hotels. Among the 100 odd passengers, seven had to catch international flights from elsewhere,” said the MP, adding, “I had to fly to Delhi in connection with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Rajkot scheduled on July 27 and had a return ticket to Rajkot for Monday. But as the flight couldn’t take off, I had to cancel my visit.”
Air India said that the remaining passengers were offered hotel accommodation, their bookings were rescheduled “as per their desire” and they got a full refund against cancellation.
The MP said the flight was originally scheduled to take off at 7.30 pm Sunday, but it landed in Rajkot an hour late. “It is understandable that flight arrivals get delayed sometimes and consequently, departures also get delayed. I have been flying to Delhi from Rajkot for the past 10 years. However, I have never had to deal with such a situation,” rued Kundariya.
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