Duty hours debacle: 100 passengers, including BJP MPs, left stranded as Rajkot-Delhi Air India flight disrupted

New Delhi, July 24 (IANS) Around 100 passengers, including three BJP MPs, found themselves in a predicament at Gujarat's Rajkot airport on Sunday night when their Air India flight to Delhi faced an unexpected disruption.

The pilot of the aircraft refused to fly, citing that he had exceeded his duty hours, as per Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) norms, leaving the passengers in a state of uncertainty.

The incident unfolded late in the evening after passengers boarded the Air India flight, scheduled for departure at 8.30 p.m. Among the passengers were Rajkot MP Mohan Kundariya, Jamnagar MP Poonam Maadam, and newly-elected Rajya Sabha MP Kesaridevsinh Jhala.

In a statement issued on Monday, an Air India spokesperson said that AI404 operating between Rajkot and Delhi late evening on July 23 was delayed due to an operational reason.

"Subsequently, the cockpit crew came under Flight Duty Time Limit (FDTL) regulations for which they could not operate the flight as per regulatory norms. The FDTL regulation is non negotiable aspect and cannot be compromised under any circumstances," said the spokesperson.

"Certain passengers who had to reach Delhi on an urgent basis were transported by road to Ahmedabad to take an Air India or codeshare flight to Delhi. The remaining passengers were offered hotel accommodation with all meals and their bookings rescheduled as per their desire including full refund against cancellation," the spokesperson added.

Earlier this month, around 20 to 25 students were left stranded after the cancellation of Air India flight AI 186 from Vancouver to Delhi on July 2 due to some techincal issue.

Describing their ordeal, the University of British Columbia (UBC) students had mentioned that the flight was initially scheduled to depart from Vancouver airport at around 10.15 a.m. on July 2 but was rescheduled twice and eventually canceled.

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