SpiceJet fliers spend whole night in plane

A SpiceJet Delhi-Ahmedabad flight turned into a nightmare for passengers when their flight was delayed for over 12 hours. The SpiceJet flight (SG117) scheduled to take off from IGI Airport in New Delhi at 9.20 pm on Friday was delayed first due to fog then, allegedly, the pilot’s refusal to fly as his shift had ended.
By 1.30 am, the passengers on board the flight were told it had been cancelled. Furious, they refused to deplane till SpiceJet officials put them on a special flight the next morning. After spending all night at the airport even their special flight was put in a queue for an hour & a half. The aircraft finally took off at 10.45 am.
Passenger Rajesh Tripathi said, “The flight was to take off at 9.40 pm. The airline announced a delay. The flight was then supposed to depart at 11.20 pm but again got pushed back to 11.55 pm. We boarded the flight at 11.20 pm and the doors were closed at 11.45 pm. The pilot announced that fog had reduced visibility, delaying departure yet again.”
Passenger Sohail said, “At 12.20 am, the pilot exited from the cockpit. I asked him why he was leaving. The pilot replied that he would exceed his flying hours. ...”
Tripathi added, “At 1.30 am, the fog thickened and the flight got cancelled. We were asked to deplane and meet the ground staff for our refund.”
Passengers, however, refused to take back their money as other tickets were 4-5 times more costlier. “We decided we would stay put till the officials made arrangements to fly us to Ahmedabad. They tried to get us off the plane using various means, but we stayed put,” said Prakash, who was also on the flight.
At 3 am, the passengers were informed that alternate arrangements had been made.
This flight was meant to depart at 7.25 am on Saturday, but a thick fog rolled in, delaying the take-off. The passengers heaved a sigh of relief when the plane finally took off around 10.45 am.
24/01/10 Ahmedabad Mirror

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Categories: Airports Jan 2010, spicejet Jan 2010