New Delhi: Full service carrier Air India on Friday said some of its ultra long-haul flights have been facing delays due to issues related to airport entry passes, news agency PTI reported. The carrier further said it is "working closely" with the authorities to resolve the matter.
Airport Entry Passes (AEPs), issued by Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) allow airport access to airline crew (pilots and cabin crew), engineers, ground staff, security personnel and other individuals.
"Air India regrets that some of our North America flights have been delayed due to operational issues arising from the slower-than-expected issuance of Airport Entry Passes to cabin crew," an Air India spokesperson said in a statement.
However, the airline did not share specific details.
"Air India is working closely with relevant authorities to expedite the issuance of remaining passes," the spokesperson added.
Rumours regarding cabin crew shortage are completely baseless, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the airline has been hiring proactively over the last few months in order to cater to the growing traffic on domestic and international routes.
"Nonetheless, we regret the inconvenience that the delay may have caused to our valuable passengers," the spokesperson added.
It is to be noted that there have been media reports in August that poor interiors were delaying flights to North America.
It was also said that due to this, Air India is planning to lease six B777 aircraft for the first time in at least 10 years.
According to Flightradar24, that provides real-time information about aircraft across the world, Air India's Delhi-Vancouver flight was repeatedly delayed, including 11 hours delay on July 10.
Notably, Flightradar24 is a Swedish internet-based service, that shows real-time aircraft flight tracking information on a map.
The information includes flight tracking information, origins and destinations, flight numbers, and aircraft types, among others.