An Air India flight from Paris to New Delhi landed in Jaipur as the pilots refused to fly further after completing their duty hours, leading to chaos on Monday.
The flight (AI-2022) was carrying around 180 passengers, who were stranded for nearly nine hours in Jaipur after which they were sent to Delhi by bus, a report in India Today said.
The incident unfolded after the pilot refused to continue their journey to Delhi citing completion of duty hours. The Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules mandate the amount of time a pilot can be on duty to ensure the safety of flights.
The Air India flight departed from Paris at 10 pm on Sunday and was scheduled to land in Delhi at 10.35 am on Monday. However, due to the dense smog over Delhi amid 'severe plus' AQI levels, the flight was unable to land at Delhi airport.
A report in NDTV quoting sources said said that the pilots were not qualified to make low-visibility landings. After instructions from the air traffic control, the flight was diverted to Jaipur, landing there at 12:10 pm.
According to a report in India Today, while the flight was waiting for clearance to land in Delhi, the pilot informed the authorities that his duty hours were over and refused to continue flying.
The incident led to the passengers expressing their anguish on social media.
"Shameful and pathetic management from @airindia today as flight #AI2022 from CDG-DEL diverted to JAI. Pax stranded at JAI asked to spend 5 hrs inside the aircraft and then to take a bus from JAI to DEL. My wife and two months old is suffering and I am helpless," one passenger wrote in a post on X.
"After working for 8 years for @TataCompanies and have met Mr. @RNTata2000 several times my heart and mind are in pain for such mismanagement from @airindia. Certainly, this is not @tatatrusts. This is not their way of doing business," he added in a separate post. The passengers were later sent to Delhi on a bus. Meanwhile, the Air India apologised for the inconvenience.
"Dear Sir, we understand that flight disruptions are certainly uncomfortable and apologies for the inconvenience you're experiencing. Let us get this checked and get back to you with an update," Air India said in response to the passenger's post.
The incident comes ever as 15 flights were diverted and over 100 flights were delayed at the Delhi airport on Monday as bad weather conditions in the national capital resulted in poor visibility impacting aircraft operations, an official said.
Air India, SpiceJet and IndiGo informed passengers through X that flights may be affected due to poor visibility conditions in the national capital, which is also grappling with high pollution levels. Of the 15 flights, 13 were diverted to Jaipur and 1 each to Dehradun and Lucknow, the official said and added that the diversions happened between 8.30 am and 3.30 pm.