In a viral video surfacing across social media, passengers of an Air India flight complained that they were made to sit inside the aircraft without air-conditioning.
The flight was scheduled to travel from Delhi to Patna at around 4 p.m.
Air India responded to a post on X, stating that the delay was due to operational reasons and that it had instructed its team to provide real-time assistance.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), Delhi recorded a daytime temperature of 41.1 degrees Celsius on Sunday, slightly above the seasonal average.
Explaining the grievances the people were facing inside the plane, a passenger, Rishi Mishra, and a Rashtriya Janata Dal leader, posted a video on his social media.
“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,” Mishra said in the video while the sweat was running down his forehead.
In the video clip, the RJD leader could be clearly seen sweating, while other passengers were using the inflight reading material as fans.
Taking to X, the MLA’s brother-in-law and surgeon, Dr. Bipin Jha wrote while tagging Air India, “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.”
To which Air India replied saying. “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.”
Later, in a follow-up Facebook post, the RJD leader revealed that the ordeal lasted for 3 hours before the passengers were transferred to another plane. “After torturing the passengers for 3 hours without any AC and without any vents, now they are being shifted to another plane. There is no guarantee of the lives of the passengers, nor their comfort and money is being looted,” he said.