AI flight covers 3½-hr journey in 2 days

Mumbai: Flight IX-452 to Cochin with 160 passengers on board was to leave Abu Dhabi at 9pm local time on Saturday. The flight did not take-off that day as the aircraft developed a technical snag and had to be grounded. The next day, it took off at 8.45pm only to be airborne for an hour and develop a snag again. "It was diverted to Muscat and landed there at 10pm local time on Sunday," said an Air India spokesperson confirming the inordinate delay.
"The passengers were provided accomodation in a hotel for the night," he added. It finally left Muscat at 2.30pm local time on Monday and landed in Cochin, its final destination, at 7.30pm local time. "The technical snags along with the pilot duty hour limitations caused the long delay," the spokesperson said.
If there could have been anything worse for the AI Express passengers, then it's the fact that the draft for passenger compensation in cases of flight delays, cancellations, denied boarding etc. is still in the works. In fact, Tuesday was the last day for sending suggestions to the seven-page draft formulated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). It is expected to be implemented later this year. The draft makes airlines liable to pay compensation to passengers for flight delays. In the case of this flight, a delay exceeding three hours would have made the airline liable to pay compensation to the passenger.
21/07/10 Manju V/Times of India

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Categories: Air India Budget Jun 2010, Airports Jun 2010, Foreign Jun 2010