Fliers stranded as technical snag delays flights

Businessman Gurbinder Singh Basher lost Rs 15,000 on hotel bookings at Delhi because his Kingfisher Airlines flight to the capital was delayed by nearly four hours on Monday.

Businessman Gurbinder Singh Basher lost Rs 15,000 on hotel bookings at Delhi because his Kingfisher Airlines flight to the capital was delayed by nearly four hours on Monday.

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“It was pointless taking the flight because I had missed the meeting by a good one hour,” said Basher.

Twenty-eight irked passengers, including Basher, cancelled their tickets because the airline staff allegedly kept giving them inconsistent updates on the flight. The airline gave them full refund but many lost money on hotel bookings.

The situation was worse for 12 other passengers from Dubai who had missed a connecting flight to Delhi earlier in the day. “We had a connecting flight at 6am, which was rescheduled to 11.20am. But the airline staff kept flipping the schedule till 3pm,” said a passenger, who did want to be identified.

Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson said that a technical snag on a Mumbai-bound flight from Bengalooru earlier in the day had a cascading effect on its flight schedule at Mumbai.

The flight that left from Bengalooru at 9.25am had to return to the airport after the pilot detected a technical glitch mid-air.

“We had to send an alternative aircraft from Mumbai to carry passengers held up at Bengalooru. That delayed the flight to Delhi. We regret the inconvenience caused to passengers,” said a Kingfisher spokesperson.

Passengers on the city-bound flight from Bengalooru were upset because the crew kept evading their questions.

“They could have told us that flight would be delayed by three hours. Why mislead the passengers?” said Vipin Chokawala, a Mumbai-based businessman who was stuck in Bengalooru. Moreover, he added, the airline did not offer food or water to them while they waited at the terminal for two hours.

“Then for another hour we were made to sit inside the aircraft,” said Chokawala. According to an air passenger compensation policy, which came into effect on August 15, airlines have to offer meals to passengers in case of such delays.