When one of India’s top conglomerates the Tata Group took over Air India, it was hailed as a homecoming for the ailing airline nationalised in the 1950s. As flyers look forward to a revival of the formerly debt-stressed carrier, Air India is reportedly struggling with a shortage of pilots and cabin crew, despite merging its other airlines such as Vistara and Air Asia into their older peer. As the aviation giant takes off towards a recovery, its passengers were stranded on Bengaluru airport, due to a 13-hour delay.
Security concerns caused delay?
As the elderly and people with children were worst hit by the lag which didn’t allow them to fly out till the next day, Air India tweeted that its ground staff provided meals and other assistance to passengers. Although the airline has been affected by staff shortages, this time the delay was caused by a technical glitch which led to further examination. Air India cited security of the passengers as a reason behind the decision to not take off, till all engineering checks had been carried out.
Air India’s revival plans hit?
The flight was bound from Bengaluru to San Francisco, a route which Air India resumed operations on from December 2, after a nine-month halt. The carrier also plans to operate three flights every week on the route, and the delay on Wednesday has hit its prospects.
Netizens also took to social media to complain about the lag, and how adequate arrangements weren’t made to comfort passengers despite a lengthy delay.
About 37 Air India flights carry passengers from India to the US every week, and the flight time between Bengaluru and San Francisco itself is more than 17 hours.
