Jose K Joseph
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar: The frequent delays of the Delhi-Bhubaneswar Air India flight AI 073 has causing a lot of inconvenience to flyers, especially those who fly regularly from the national capital.
Flight AI 073 should, according to the flight schedule, take off from the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi at 6:30 pm and land at the Biju Patnaik International Airport in Bhubaneswar at 8:45 pm. However, the flight got delayed for more than eight hours January 10. Passengers alleged that the airline reassigned the aircraft and its crew to Bhopal because of pressure from VIPs. The airline denied the allegation and cited heavy fog at Delhi airport as the reason for the delay.
However, this is not the only instance of the flight being delayed. The flight was delayed by about five hours Wednesday, causing a lot of inconvenience for many passengers.
“This flight is an often delayed. The flight first took off to Bhubaneswar Wednesday at 9:30 pm but returned to Delhi within one hour. Officials told protesting passengers that the flight had to return because of technical problems. The flight finally took off from Delhi at 11:30 pm and landed at at Bhubaneswar at 1 am,” said Pratap Jena, an Air India passenger who travelled on the flight.
The Air India assistant manager in Delhi, Jagmit Singh, refused to comment on the issue. However, airline sources said that officials attributed the delay to technical problems.
The flight was delayed by an hour again Friday and landed at Bhubaneswar at 9.45 pm.
Many regular passengers said they plan to submit a memorandum to parliamentarians from Orissa on this issue.