Chaotic scenes at Pune airport as passengers stranded after flight cancelation due to technical issue
Around 120 passengers were stranded at the new terminal building of the Pune airport on Thursday after their Air India Express flight I5 320 was cancelled due to technical issue. The message was conveyed to the flyers after they have been sitting in the aircraft for more than 2 hours.
We were onboard the Pune-Bhubaneswar Air India Express flight I5 320 for two hours from 2 pm to 4pm before being asked to deboard as it faced technical issues, said a flier.
Sandeep Jawalekar, another stranded passenger on this flight, took to X to express their frustration.
@mohol_murlidhar Dear sir,
— Sandeep Jawalekar (@SandeepJawalek1) July 18, 2024
We are stucked at Pune Airport due to technical issue of Plain from last 3hours.
No one is helping.
Wrost condition.
According to reports, the passengers reached the airport at around 2 pm for their the 4 pm departure flight, to complete the check-in procedure. Then till 6 pm they were sitting inside the aircraft before being told that the flight will not go due to technical issue. The passengers included more than 50 women. After repeated queries, the airline officials told them to wait for the flight that will depart the next day.
— Sandeep Jawalekar (@SandeepJawalek1) July 18, 2024
Chaotic scenes were witnessed at the terminal as most of the passengers were stranded without any other options to fly on alternative airlines as they were all full. The airline took a lot of time before finally informing the passengers that the technical issue cannot be fixed and the flight will depart tomorrow.
Santosh Dhoke, director, Pune airport, on Thursday said, “The Air India Express flight was cancelled due to technical issue. The airline company has said that they will be arranging accommodation for passengers and the flight is scheduled to depart tomorrow.”
