Passengers Of Air India London-Delhi Fight Stranded For 5 Hours As Pilot Refuses to Fly, Says ‘Duty Hours Over’

Passengers of Air India flight A-112, traveling from London to Delhi, experienced an unexpected delay and inconvenience as the pilot refused to continue the journey after an emergency landing in Jaipur. The incident occurred on Sunday when bad weather conditions forced the diversion of the flight. Approximately 350 passengers were stranded at Jaipur airport for three hours while they sought alternative arrangements to reach their destination.

Emergency Landing in Jaipur

Originally scheduled to arrive in Delhi at 4:00 am on Sunday, Air India flight A-112 was diverted to Jaipur due to unfavourable weather conditions at the Delhi airport. After landing in Jaipur, the flight was expected to resume its journey to Delhi within a couple of hours, stated a News18 report.

Pilot's Refusal to Fly

Despite receiving clearance from the Delhi Air Traffic Control (ATC) to proceed to Delhi, the pilot chose not to fly the plane and disembarked, citing duty time limitations and duty hours as the reason for his decision. This unexpected turn of events left the passengers stranded and prompted them to seek alternative means of reaching their destination.

Passenger Inconvenience and Alternatives

With no immediate resolution in sight, the approximately 350 passengers were left with no choice but to find alternative arrangements to continue their journey to Delhi. Some opted to travel by road, while others remained hopeful of flying on the same flight after a replacement crew was arranged.

Airline Reacts

The airlines reacting to the reports issued a statement saying that the flight was diverted to Jaipur due to weather inclement and poor visibility at Delhi. "It is misleading to say pilots of AI112 had left the aircraft citing their duty time is over, leading to inconvenience caused to passengers," they said.

They said while the aircradft was waiting for Delhi weather to improve, the cockpit crew came under Flight Duty Time Limitations.

"Pilots cannot operate a flight once they come under the FDTL, as laid down by regulatory authorities. Air India accords top priority to safety of its passengers and crew and strictly adhering to the operations' regulations, immediately arranged a fresh set of crew to operate the flight. Passengers were served refreshments after mandatory immigration clearance at Jaipur airport and were flown into Delhi at 2 pm," the airlines added.