Civil Aviation Minister faces irate passengers on delayed flight; Air India suspends 3 staffers

A Vijaywada bound Delhi flight carrying 100 passengers along with Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju was delayed by more than an hour on Wednesday at the Delhi airport. The passengers were already inside the Air India flight, AI 459, including the minister. The airline later suspended three staff members and issued a warning letter to the pilot for arriving late. The flight eventually took off after a delay of one and half hours.

The minister, who was also onboard, had to face an angry crowd who demanded to know why the flight was not taking off. Raju then called Air India CMD Pradeep Kharola and inquired about the reason in the delay.

"Yesterday Air India AI 459 Delhi to Vijaywada flight was delayed by around 1.30 hours with over 100 passengers including minister of civil aviation P Ashok Gajapati Raju onboard," Air India spokesperson GP Rao told ANI. He also mentioned, "Onboard passengers protested and questioned Minister Raju on the delay in the flight. Immediately, the minister asked Air India CMD Pradeep Kharola about flight delay reason."

The Air India flight was scheduled to leave at 6 am but had to wait for better visibility. This was, however, not communicated to the ground staff, who then started the boarding process on time. On top of that, the pilot was also stopped at the security check point because of an issue with his airport pass, reports mention. According to reports, he had reached 15 minutes late.

Meanwhile, Air India CMD Pradeep Singh Kharola has called for a meeting of senior officials after a flight carrying Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju was unduly delayed at the airport here, airline sources said.

Kharola  has called a meeting today of senior officials, including director of operations and scheduling, the sources said.

The Air India flight, on which the minister was travelling, was delayed for long, an official in the minister's office confirmed. The flight had nearly 125 passengers.

The incident came days after Kharola took charge as the Chairman and Managing Director of the disinvestment-bound airline. About the incident, an Air India spokesperson said the CMD has taken strict action for the confusion created and subsequent delay of the flight.

"Three officials have been suspended and a warning letter has been issued to the captain for reporting late by 15 minutes," the spokesperson said.

with PTI inputs