Onboard passengers irked as IndiGo flight takes off after 3-hour delay

Is the country’s largest airline facing a pilot crunch? Passengers onboard an IndiGo flight originating from the Mumbai airport had to wait for about three hours and 15 minutes beyond the scheduled take-off. While it could not be ascertained when the incident happened or where the flight was headed, a video clip, shared apparently by one of the passengers and viewed by Zee Business, showed some of the passengers irked by the delay and arguing with cabin crew. 

The pilot arrived late by two hours, leading to a delay in the receipt of the air traffic control (ATC) signal for the flight, said one of the passengers. 

In response to a complaint filed by one of the impacted passengers, IndiGo said it “deeply regretted” the delay, adding: “Please know that it is never our intention to disrupt our flight schedules or travel plans of our customers. However, given the nature of our operations, delays are sometimes unavoidable.”

“As checked, your flight was delayed due to air traffic congestion at (the) Mumbai airport. We believe it has now departed. We truly appreciate your patience and kind understanding and hope to serve you better in the future,” the airline told the passenger. 

However, this was not the only incident in the recent past where passengers onboard a flight were left both agitated and helpless over a shocking reason behind flight delay.

In a similar incident this week, some 100 passengers onboard an Air India flight from New Delhi to Pune had to wait for two hours due to the unavailability of a pilot.

Is the domestic civil aviation industry facing a shortage of pilots?

More than 40 out of the more than 450 pilots left airline Akasa without serving their notice this month, causing cancellations of around 18 per cent of the 3,500-odd flights the carrier operated in a month in August. Akasa is suing some of the pilots for alleged contractual violations, and has warned in court that it might have to shut down if the exits continue.

Pilots are mandated by law to serve a notice period of 6-12 months, which is challenged by some organisations in court.

Meanwhile, air passenger traffic continues to soar

Domestic air passenger traffic grew 22.8 per cent on a year-on-year basis to 1.2 crore in August, according to data released by aviation regulator DGCA. IndiGo—the country’s largest flight by passengers carried—flew 78.7 lakh passengers and accounted for 63.3 per cent of the total domestic passenger volume during the month, according to DGCA.

Domestic air passenger traffic is likely to grow 8-13 per cent in the year ending March 2024, helping the aviation industry trim its losses further, according to a report by credit rating agency Icra.

The ratings agency maintained a "stable outlook" on the domestic civil aviation industry in its mid-year update. 

With inputs from agencies