Pune News : Over 160 Passengers In Pune To Lucknow Flight Left Stranded for 14 Hours on Airport
In a shocking incident, an Air Asia flight from Pune to Lucknow, scheduled to take off from 5:20 pm from Pune airport on 5th July, was delayed for more than 14 hours, leaving around 160 passengers stranded on the airport. The flight finally took off around 7 am on 6th July.
Speaking to Pune Pulse, Dhairyashil Vandekar, Aviation Analyst, said “If a flight is going to be delayed, then the airline staff must communicate this 24 hours prior with the passengers. However, it wasn’t done in this case. As many as 160 passengers were left stranded on Pune airport, with no alternate arrangements such as hotel booking, other flights, meals/refreshments etc. But nothing was done by the airline, alleged passengers. “
As per information from Dhairyashil Vandekar, all the regulations regarding flights must be put up at each and every check in counter of the airport. No prior communication was done on the airline’s behalf to the passengers. The operations at the Lucknow airport are closed from February 26 to July 11. So, even when the airline knew about the Lucknow airport Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), how did they plan for a Pune-Lucknow flight between these dates in the first place?
“An AIX Connect flight scheduled to operate from Pune to Lucknow was delayed by 14hrs due to technical reasons and had to be operated from Pune at 07:00hrs, consequently, owing to the scheduled runway closure in Lucknow from 9:30pm to 6:30am. We regret the inconvenience caused and an option of full refund and free rescheduling was extended to the guests. AIX Connect regrets the delay and disruption to travel plans of the guests due to the occurrence. We wish to reiterate that the safety and security of our guests are of primary importance in all operations, ” informed the AIX Connect Spokesperson.
