An Air India flight departing from Delhi to San Francisco was delayed by over 8 hours with no air conditioning on board as alleged by social media users. The flight which was supposed to take off yesterday afternoon will take off today at 11 am, after a delay of about 20 hours. According to some users on X, some passengers fainted due to no air conditioning (AC) on the flight.
According to a journalist Shweta Punj’s post on X, passengers were made to board a plane, flight AI 183, when it was delayed by 8 hours. The passengers were later deplaned when some of them fainted due to the heat. If there is a privatisation story that has failed it is @airindia @DGCAIndia AI 183 flight has been delayed for over 8 hours , passengers were made to board the plane without air conditioning, and then deplaned after some people fainted in the flight.This is inhuman! @JM_Scindia” tagging the Union Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditiya Scindia
Privatisation that she was referencing to was Tata’s take over the company in 2022. “Tatas took over this airline in 2022. In over 2.5 years, the airline has regressed. The situation it created for its passengers could have been grounds for a lawsuit for endangering lives in any other country. But that’s another battle. To those who are victims of fire tragedies because of open violation of rules to those who are victims of inflated hospital bills and school fees. let’s just say that the consumer class in India is getting crushed,” she said in a tweet.
Air India replied to Shweta’s grievances with their own tweet saying, “Dear Ms. Punj, we truly regret to note the disruptions. Please be rest assured that our team is actively working to address the delay and appreciate your ongoing support and understanding. We are also alerting our team to provide necessary assistance to the passengers.”
It is pertinent to note here that Delhi is experiencing a severe heatwave, recording a record-breaking 52.9 degree Celsius on Wednesday.
Several other users took to X to air their greivances regarding the delay. One user, Abhishek Sharma, posted several pictures of people sitting on the ground at the terminal. the post read, "AI 183 is over 8 hrs late. People were made to board the plane and sit without ac. Then deplaned and not allowed to enter the terminal because immigration was done."
Watch the visuals: