Passengers suffer without AC on Air India Delhi-Patna flight delay

Passengers on an Air India flight at Delhi airport complained that they were kept inside the aircraft without air conditioning on Sunday. The flight was scheduled to depart for Patna.

In response to a post on X, Air India stated that operational reasons caused the delay and instructed its team to provide real-time assistance.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) reported that Delhi's daytime temperature on Sunday reached 41.1 degrees Celsius, slightly above the seasonal average.

Rashtriya Janata Dal MLA Rishi Mishra, a passenger on the Air India flight, posted a video on social media describing the situation.

“This is an Air India flight to Patna. It’s May 18, 4 pm, and we have been inside the plane without air-conditioning for an hour. You can see how much we are sweating. Children and many others are affected, but no one is addressing the issue,” Mr. Mishra said in a video he shared from inside the aircraft, sweat running down his forehead.

Passengers were seen using the inflight reading material to fan themselves.

The MLA's brother-in-law and surgeon, Dr Bipin Jha, contacted Air India on X and posted, "Regarding AI2521 Delhi to Patna flight ! Air condition did not work and hundreds of passengers were on board in this scorching heat for 3 hours ! My brother in law who is a politician and EX MLA became unwell ! Can you fix this for the future please."

Air India responded to him, saying, "Dear Mr. Jha, thank you for bringing this to our attention. The flight was delayed due to operational reasons. Please be assured that our team has been notified to provide real-time assistance. We appreciate your understanding."

Sources revealed that the plane's air-conditioning had malfunctioned. They added that Air India would arrange another flight to send the passengers to Patna within half an hour.

Also Read: India U19 Crowned SAFF Champions After Thrilling 4-3 Penalty Win