Air India Passengers Stranded in Jaipur For 9 Hours After Pilot Refuses to Fly

New Delhi, India: A Paris-New Delhi Air India flight, AI-2022, was diverted to Jaipur early on Monday morning due to smog in the national capital, leading to hours of chaos and frustration for passengers. The flight, which took off from Paris at 10:00 PM on Sunday, was initially scheduled to arrive in Delhi at 10:35 AM on Monday. However, the diversion was necessary because the pilots were not qualified to perform low-visibility landings required by the dense smog in Delhi.

While the aircraft waited for clearance to resume its journey to Delhi, further delays ensued when the pilots refused to continue flying, citing exhaustion and their completion of mandatory duty hours. The refusal was in line with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) rules, which are designed to ensure that pilots are adequately rested to avoid fatigue-related safety issues.

With no immediate resolution in sight, stranded passengers were left frustrated. Many took to social media to voice their dissatisfaction, with some passengers expressing anger over the airline's lack of communication and support. One passenger, Vishal P., tweeted, “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-month-old are suffering, and I am helpless.”

Another user, Giridhara Upadhyaya, also criticized the airline, highlighting the plight of a mother traveling with an infant: “@airindia is not helping passengers from Paris to Bengaluru stranded in Jaipur since 12 noon. There is a mother with a 2-month-old baby, and they are not in the mood to assist. Very inhuman staff.”

Despite the growing unrest, sources revealed that Air India did not arrange an alternative flight for the passengers, as it would have taken longer to organize one. Instead, passengers were finally transported to Delhi by bus, a journey that took several more hours.

As of now, there has been no official statement from Air India regarding the incident, but sources noted that the airline’s decision to send passengers by road was made to avoid further delays caused by arranging another flight.