Home, after 40 long hrs in the air

New Delhi: American Airlines flight that took off at 7.30 pm Chicago time on Saturday lands in Delhi at 11.45 pm on Monday; officials blame it on technical snag, bad weather
“We know why you fly, we’re American Airlines”. That’s what the airline’s slogan says. Passengers on board flight AA 292 from Chicago to Delhi want it to be changed. The flight that took off at 7.30 pm Chicago time (around 6 am on Sunday in India) on Saturday finally landed at the IGI Airport at 11.45 pm Indian Standard Time on Monday. Reason: crew members first forgot to load water in the flight and then came a series of hiccups.
The harassed passengers streaming out of the Delhi airport past midnight on Monday after an over 40-hour flight had only one thing to say: “Frustrating!”
According to the passengers, as soon as the flight took off from Chicago on October 4, the captain declared that there was shortage of grey water (one used for toilet) on board. It remained airborne for nearly three hours before returning to Chicago. Around 11 pm, the passengers were told to collect their luggage and were sent to a local hotel, in batches. Some reached the hotel as late as 3 am, they added. “The hotel was nearly 15 miles away. We waited at the airport for quite long for a drop. Many took a taxi,” said Gurmeet Kaur, a resident of Ohio. The passengers alleged that though they were given $5 coupon each for meals, many of them were not aware of the facility. “We were told that the flight would leave the next day at 2 pm. But once we reached the airport, we were told it had been further rescheduled for 7.30 pm,” said Ajay Kumar, who works on board a cruise ship in the US. On reaching Delhi, Kumar realised that most of his luggage was wet.
At 7.30 pm, the passengers said, they were once again told to board the flight. Little did they know that they were in for more trouble. “The flight had taxied only for a few minutes when the captain declared that there was some technical snag in the engine. We again waited at the airport for three more hours,” said Shivani Kumar, a software engineer.
The rescheduled flight was to land in Delhi at 8.30 pm on Monday but it finally touched ground at 11.45 pm.
07/10/08 Expressindia.com

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Categories: Foreign Oct 2008