After reports of 20 hours of delay due to a technical issue with Air India aircraft, the Civil Aviation Ministry and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued show cause notices to the airlines on Friday.
Notably, Air India’s Delhi-San Francisco flight was delayed for more than 20 hours due to a technical issue with the aircraft. AI 183, which was to depart from Delhi at 1530 IST on May 30, has been rescheduled and will now take off at 1500 IST on May 31.
“Repeated incidences of passengers being put to discomfort by M/s Air India in violation of various DGCA CAR (Civil Aviation Requirements) provisions have come to notice,” the DGCA said in a statement on Friday.
The notice mentioned two cases of Air India’s flight delay. One was on May 30, while the other was on May 24.
“It has come to the notice of DGCA that flight Al-179 dated 24.05.2024 and flight Al-183 dated 30.05.2024 were inordinately delayed and passengers were put to discomfort due to insufficient cooling in the cabin. Further, repeated incidents of passengers being put to discomfort by M/s Air India in violation of various DGCA CAR provisions have come to notice,” the DGCA notice read.
The DGCA has given Air India three days to respond on the matter or face potential enforcement action.
It said Air India has “time and again” failed in taking due care of passengers and compliance of aforementioned Civil Aviation Requirements.
The DGCA’s notice also cites violations of aviation regulations, particularly regarding passenger care during delays.
Passengers on the San Francisco-bound Air India flight faced a harrowing time due to an inordinate delay.
Some reports have also said that the passengers fainted as the aircraft’s air-conditioning system was non-functional.
There were around 200 passengers onboard the Boeing 777 aircraft that was to operate flight AI 183.