New Delhi:
Passengers of an Air India flight at Delhi airport have complained they were made to sit inside the aircraft without air-conditioning on Sunday. The flight was scheduled to travel to Patna.
Air India in a response to a post on X said operational reasons caused the delay and it told its team to give real-time assistance.
Delhi’s daytime temperature on Sunday was 41.1 degree Celsius, slightly above the seasonal average, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
One of the passengers of the Air India flight, Rashtriya Janata Dal MLA Rishi Mishra, posted a video on social media explaining the situation.
“This is an Air India flight to Patna. Today is May 18, and it is 4 pm. We are inside the plane for an hour without air-conditioning. You can see how much we are sweating. Children are affected, many people are affected, but there is no one to look into this matter,” Mr Mishra, sweat running down his forehead, said in the video he shared from inside the aircraft.
Passengers were seen using inflight reading material as hand fans.
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 replied to him: “Dear Mr. Jha, thank you for bringing this to our attention. The flight has been delayed due to operational reasons. Please rest assured, our team has been notified to provide real time assistance. Hope for your kind understanding.”
@airindia 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 !
— Dr Bipin Jha🇮🇳 (@bipin_dr2009) May 18, 2025
Sources said the plane’s AC had malfunctioned. They said Air India would send the passengers to Patna in another flight within half-an-hour.
