Air India passengers on S’pore-bound flight fan themselves with pamphlets after air-con breaks down
More than 200 passengers on an Air India flight to Singapore spent two unbearable hours without air-conditioning after it broke down.
A video shared by a passenger on X showed sweltering passengers resorting to fanning themselves with pamphlets.
Source: Ashish Mishra on X
Air India passengers ‘suffering’ without air-con
In the post by journalist Ashish Mishra on Thursday (11 Sept), he said he was on flight AI2380 from Delhi to Singapore.
However, for the past 1.5 hours they have been “suffering” without air-con, with people “forced to use papers as fans”.
Source: Ashish Mishra on X
A passenger was seen hopefully checking the air-con vent above for some semblance of ventilation.
Source: Ashish Mishra on X
Electricity in the cabin also ‘gone’
Worse still, the electricity in the cabin had “gone”, Mr Mishra said.
He appealed for help from the Internet, dramatically saying:
We are getting roasted here.
Passengers deplaned after 2 hours
About 40 minutes later, Mr Mishra posted again, saying that passengers on the flight were being deplaned.
This was due to a suspected technical glitch, he added.
Source: Ashish Mishra on X
By that time, they had been without air-con for about two hours. “Pathetic service,” he charged.
Delay due to air-con issue: Air India
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft was supposed to have taken off from Delhi about 11pm on Wednesday (10 Sept) night, reported Press Trust of India.
Instead, passengers were forced to return to the airport terminal after sitting on the tarmac for two hours.
An Air India statement quoted by The Times of India said the delay was due to a cabin cooling issue before departure.
Passengers were given regular information about the delay and provided support at the terminal, including refreshments and meals, it said.
After the plane was changed, the flight finally left almost six hours late at 5.36am local time.
Air India regretted the inconvenience caused to passengers, it added.
Air India under scrutiny over recent incidents
The incident comes three months after a deadly Air India plane crash near Ahmedabad in June, killing 241 people on board as well as dozens on the ground.
Just a day after that, an Air India flight made an emergency landing in Thailand after receiving an apparent bomb threat.
Adding to the scrutiny, four days later an Air India returned to Hong Kong shortly after take-off due to a technical issue.
Also read: Air India flight returns to Hong Kong due to ‘technical issue’ shortly after take-off
Air India flight returns to Hong Kong due to ‘technical issue’ shortly after take-off
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at [email protected].
Featured image adapted from Ashish Mishra on X.
‘We are getting roasted here’: 200 Air India passengers spend 2 hours without air-con due to technical issue
