Ahmedabad: Delays are not new to Air India. Last week, flights were delayed for three days at a stretch, inconveniencing even former president APJ Abdul Kalam. The reasons for AI delays are so diverse that the airline could consider coming up with a menu card, allowing flyers to choose the kind of delay they would like for themselves - shortage of cabin crew, crack in the windshield, malfunctioning toilets, malfunctioning AC, absence of pilots, and unbearable stink.
On Saturday, smell of fish in the AI aircraft caused much brouhaha, forcing the airline to delay the flight by over three hours, infuriating the passengers further. The 'olfactive delay' was caused at Mumbai airport. It was around 2 am on Saturday when the passengers on board AI 131 London-Mumbai-Ahmedabad flight complained of a fishy smell. The flight door was about to close when passengers on the seats near the exit started talking about unbearably pungent odour. Confused where the smell originated from, they even checked underneath their seats before one of them reported the matter to the cabin crew.
The crew tried to convince the passengers that all was well, but soon passengers on board began protesting. When the arguments reached a crescendo, the crew informed the captain about it and soon, the passengers were deplaned. The aircraft was cleaned up thoroughly and deodorised in the exercise that lasted an hour. Around 4 am, the passengers were allowed on board again and the plane took off from Mumbai airport. The flight, which was to reach Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport around 2.50 am, arrived at 6.17 am, more than three hours after its scheduled arrival.
24/06/15 Hemington James/Ahmedabad Mirror
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On Saturday, smell of fish in the AI aircraft caused much brouhaha, forcing the airline to delay the flight by over three hours, infuriating the passengers further. The 'olfactive delay' was caused at Mumbai airport. It was around 2 am on Saturday when the passengers on board AI 131 London-Mumbai-Ahmedabad flight complained of a fishy smell. The flight door was about to close when passengers on the seats near the exit started talking about unbearably pungent odour. Confused where the smell originated from, they even checked underneath their seats before one of them reported the matter to the cabin crew.
The crew tried to convince the passengers that all was well, but soon passengers on board began protesting. When the arguments reached a crescendo, the crew informed the captain about it and soon, the passengers were deplaned. The aircraft was cleaned up thoroughly and deodorised in the exercise that lasted an hour. Around 4 am, the passengers were allowed on board again and the plane took off from Mumbai airport. The flight, which was to reach Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport around 2.50 am, arrived at 6.17 am, more than three hours after its scheduled arrival.
24/06/15 Hemington James/Ahmedabad Mirror
