Pilots walk out of full plane as 'duty ends'

Pilots of an Air India Express airline have refused to take off, citing duty hours, leaving passengers of a Trivandrum-bound flight stranded at the Dubai International airport.
The IX 538 flight to Kerala’s capital was scheduled to take off at 10.40pm and all passengers had checked in and even boarded the flight.
However, less than an hour before the scheduled departure a drunken passenger on the flight had to be evicted and the flight was delayed by an hour and a half.
“Later, the passengers were all asked to take their handbags and leave the aircraft. At around 12.30am we were all told that the flight has to be postponed by 15 hours because the pilots were refusing to work after duty hours,” says Sajan Veloor, an Ajman resident.
“According to the information provided to us, the pilots were arguing that their duty time was over and they would now work only after a 12 hour break. All the cabin crew were Indians,” he added.
Among the stranded passengers are those from two Trivandrum bound flight that were cancelled earlier in the day.
13/06/12 Joseph George/Emirates24|7

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