Pune: The Air India’s jet fuel crisis, which has affected six airports including Pune, has caused flight diversions, delays and passengers’ luggage being offloaded.
On August 23, state-owned oil marketing firms had stopped the supply of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) at six airports — Pune, Ranchi, Visakhapatnam, Mohali, Patna and Kochi. Air India sources insisted that they were managing the situation without inconveniencing passengers. “ The situation is unchanged — Air India flights are still not getting fuel at Pune airport. However, flight operations are almost normal,” an Air India official told TOI.
On Wednesday, however, passengers on-board an Air India flight from Hyderabad to Pune were affected — the departure was delayed and, when it landed in Pune, passengers were informed their luggage had been left behind. “Horrible experience with Air India flight from Hyderabad to Pune. Flight departed almost 90 minutes late and on arrival in Pune, all passengers were informed that no luggage was loaded on the flight in Hyderabad,” Harsh, a passenger, had tweeted.
Air India denied that this was connected to the fuel crisis. “There was a payload issue with the Hyderabad-Pune flight, but that is not related to the current situation,” an AI source in Pune said.
AI sources said their flights were dealing with the situation by carrying an extra load of fuel for the return trip. For instance, a flight from Delhi to Pune carried enough fuel to allow it to return to Delhi. According to an official in the know, when aircraft carry extra fuel, it will impact the payload, heightening the chances of passengers’ luggage or cargo being offloaded.
In many cases, there were diversions. An Air India flight, AI-814 from Pune to Chandigarh, which flies on certain days of the week, was diverted to Mumbai on August 23, 26 and 28. “Fuel was the reason for these diversions,” another airlines official confirmed.
31/08/19 Joy Sengupta/Times of India
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On August 23, state-owned oil marketing firms had stopped the supply of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) at six airports — Pune, Ranchi, Visakhapatnam, Mohali, Patna and Kochi. Air India sources insisted that they were managing the situation without inconveniencing passengers. “ The situation is unchanged — Air India flights are still not getting fuel at Pune airport. However, flight operations are almost normal,” an Air India official told TOI.
On Wednesday, however, passengers on-board an Air India flight from Hyderabad to Pune were affected — the departure was delayed and, when it landed in Pune, passengers were informed their luggage had been left behind. “Horrible experience with Air India flight from Hyderabad to Pune. Flight departed almost 90 minutes late and on arrival in Pune, all passengers were informed that no luggage was loaded on the flight in Hyderabad,” Harsh, a passenger, had tweeted.
Air India denied that this was connected to the fuel crisis. “There was a payload issue with the Hyderabad-Pune flight, but that is not related to the current situation,” an AI source in Pune said.
AI sources said their flights were dealing with the situation by carrying an extra load of fuel for the return trip. For instance, a flight from Delhi to Pune carried enough fuel to allow it to return to Delhi. According to an official in the know, when aircraft carry extra fuel, it will impact the payload, heightening the chances of passengers’ luggage or cargo being offloaded.
In many cases, there were diversions. An Air India flight, AI-814 from Pune to Chandigarh, which flies on certain days of the week, was diverted to Mumbai on August 23, 26 and 28. “Fuel was the reason for these diversions,” another airlines official confirmed.
31/08/19 Joy Sengupta/Times of India
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