Air India pilot refused to fly the plane due to completion of duty time. Due to this, 100 passengers including BJP MPs had to face trouble at Rajkot airport in Gujarat on Sunday. The pilot of the aircraft refused to take off saying that he had exceeded his duty hours as per the norms of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
New Delhi: Air India pilot refused to fly the plane due to completion of duty hours. Due to this, 100 passengers including BJP MPs had to face trouble at Rajkot airport in Gujarat on Sunday. The pilot of the aircraft refused to take off saying that he had exceeded his duty time as per the norms of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The incident came to light late in the evening when the passengers boarded the Air India flight that was scheduled to depart at 8.30 pm. The passengers included Rajkot MP Mohan Kundaria, Jamnagar MP Poonam Madam and newly elected Rajya Sabha MP Kesridevsinh Jhala.
Air India later apologized and said that the cockpit crew had come under the flight duty time limit, so they had to end the duty. No change can be made in this rule. Around 100 passengers boarded the Air India flight at 8:30 pm. It included Rajkot MP Mohanbhai Kundariya, Jamnagar MP Poonam Ben Madam and Rajya Sabha MP candidate Kesari Dev Singh.
Air India issued a statement
An Air India spokesperson said in a statement issued on Monday that AI 404 operating between Rajkot and Delhi was delayed in the late evening of July 23. The duty time of the crew members was over. Under the rules, they could not operate the flight. Some passengers who had to reach Delhi early were sent to Ahmedabad by road to take another flight. Hotel arrangements were made for the remaining passengers. Arrangements were also made for his food.
Earlier this month, around 20 to 25 students were stranded after Air India flight AI 186 from Vancouver to Delhi was canceled on July 2 due to some technical glitch.
The flight was initially scheduled to depart Vancouver airport on July 2 at around 10.15 am, but was rescheduled twice and eventually cancelled, the students of the University of British Columbia (UBC) recounted.
