Bhubaneswar: While a Kolkata-bound IndiGo flight aborted takeoff on the runway at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here after a bit hit on Wednesday afternoon, over 100 passengers of Air India’s Delhi-Bhubaneswar flight AI-2489 were stuck at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi for over nine hours due to a technical snag the previous day.
The flight, which was scheduled to depart at 5.45 pm on Tuesday, finally left Delhi at 2.47 am on Wednesday, arriving in Bhubaneswar at 4.53 am.
Among the passengers were Union Minister Jual Oram, who had to wait at T3 gate 32A from 4.30 pm. Jual, traveling with family, contacted officials and opted for a Wednesday evening flight, the TOI reported.
However, several passengers stayed at Delhi airport until AI announced that the flight will take-off at 2.47 am.
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A passenger J S Dash also posted the ordeal on X at 1.27 am, noting Air India’s lack of alternate arrangements. The airline responded, promising assistance, but Dash reported at 1:42 am that no solutions were provided, and ground staff were uninformed. “There is no solution till now. The ground staff is also unaware of the alternate arrangement. This flight is rescheduled many times till now the alternate flight timing is not confirmed. We all are waiting at T3 Departure Gate no. 32A,” he wrote.
