The Directorate General of Civhttp://Directorate General of Civil Aviationil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a show cause notice to Air India over repeated incidents of flight delays and causing passengers discomfort. The action came after a Delhi-San Francisco flight, which was supposed to depart from the national capital on Thursday (May 30) got delayed by 24 hours due to operational reasons.
In the letter issued by the DGCA, the statutory body mentioned the AI 183 Delhi-San Francisco and AI 179 Mumbai-San Francisco flight delays, which happened within a week’s time.
“(The flights) were inordinately delayed and passengers were put to discomfort due to insufficient cooling in the cabin. Further, repeated incidences of passengers being put to discomfort by M/s Air India in violation of various DGCA CAR provisions have come to notice,” the letter read.
As per a India Today report, DGCA has directed the airline to respond to the show cause notice within three days, explaining as to why “enforcement action shall not be initiated against” Airhttp://Air India India. It further warned that if the airline fails to respond within the stipulated period, the “matter would be processed ex parte”.
Several passengers took to X to share their plight after the Delhi-San Francisco flight was delayed. Visuals on social media showed fliers waiting in what appeared to be the alley leading to the aircraft. The passengers initially waited inside the aircraft but after some people fainted due to no air conditioning, they were asked to deboard and wait outside.
The flight was scheduled to take off at around 3.30 pm on Thursday. It was first delayed by six hours before being rescheduled for Friday. Air India sources told India Today that they had to wait for a crew change and also offered a full refund and hotel stay to all the passengers, the India Today report highlighted.
