Mumbai: Passengers of a San Francisco-bound Air India flight from the city had a tough time on Friday as they had to wait inside the aircraft for more than five hours. The flight was later rescheduled for Saturday.
An airline official said the Boeing 777 plane, which was scheduled to take off at 1600 hours, was first delayed due to a technical glitch, then some passengers deboarded and subsequently, another passenger fell ill.
After deboarding the passenger who started feeling unwell at around 1917 hours, it was noticed that by the time flight AI 179 would have reached San Francisco, there would be night-landing restrictions and also, the crew would have crossed the flight-duty limitations.
The official said the flight has been rescheduled for Saturday and would take off at 1030 hours. The number of passengers onboard the aircraft could not be immediately ascertained. According to the official, AI 179 from Mumbai to San Francisco, scheduled to depart at 1600 hours, was delayed due to a technical issue arising just before the departure.
Subsequently, engineering checks were done on the aircraft and the issue was addressed. Meanwhile, the official said a few passengers decided to discontinue the journey and the flight got further delayed as their baggage had to be offloaded from the aircraft.
The official said the flight was pushed back at 1917 hours but returned to the parking bay as a passenger was feeling unwell. Later, the flight was rescheduled for Saturday. While regretting the inconvenience caused to the passengers, the official said they have been offered hotel accommodation, complimentary rescheduling and full refunds.
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