Fliers lose cool after 5-hour delay

At least 200 city-bound Air India passengers nursing a jetlag spent more than five hours at the Delhi airport terminal without food and water because their flight was delayed.

At least 200 city-bound Air India passengers nursing a jetlag spent more than five hours at the Delhi airport terminal without food and water because their flight was delayed.

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The nightmare began on Tuesday night when the display screens at Germany’s Frankfurt airport suddenly displayed that flight AI 120 to Mumbai with a stopover at the capital had been delayed by four hours.

As a result, the flight scheduled to touchdown at Delhi at 9.30am on Wednesday landed at 1.30am.

Passengers alleged that airline staff kept giving inconsistent updates about the flights status. “Some of the passengers are diabetic and blood pressure patients. They have been travelling for 20 hours. How can the airline be so irresponsible?” said Manish Dedia, joint honorary secretary of All India Plastic Manufactures Association. Dedia was part of the delegation of plastic manufacturers travelling on the flight.

Passengers claim they could not find an airline person for an hour. An airlines spokesperson said: “The flight was delayed at Frankfurt because of a technical snag.”

Passengers also alleged that the airline confined them in a 100 sq ft room for two hours.