Pune: Air India Express Flight from Delhi Delayed by Over 10 Hours, Passengers Stranded for 7 Hours Onboard

Passengers on an Air India Express flight from Delhi to Pune faced a harrowing experience as their journey was delayed by over 10 hours, including nearly seven-and-a-half hours confined inside the aircraft. The flight, originally scheduled to depart at 9:40 p.m. on Friday, finally took off at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, reaching Pune around 10 a.m.

The ordeal began with a minor delay, but tension grew as passengers remained inside the stationary aircraft for hours. Ambadas Gawande, a Pune resident traveling with his family, shared his frustrating experience. “We boarded by 10 p.m., but after an hour, it was clear something was wrong. The crew cited poor visibility due to fog as the cause. However, as time passed, passengers, including senior citizens, became agitated,” he said.

And Finally @AirIndiaX flight IX1176 reached in pune after 12 hrs from Delhi to Pune. All passengers are stuck in flight more than 10 Hrs in Delhi airport . This is very disappointing from @AirIndiaX

— AMBADAS GAWANDE (@gawande_am28078) January 4, 2025

Passengers were baffled by the decision to keep them inside the aircraft for so long. Gawande added, “Many requested to return to the terminal for comfort, but this was denied. We sat there for over seven hours with minimal communication. Finally, at 5:30 a.m., we were deboarded due to a technical issue with the aircraft.”

After disembarking, passengers were shuttled around in buses before being dropped at the terminal for a second round of security checks, which took another two hours. Ironically, passengers were then reboarded onto the same aircraft for the delayed flight.

The delay was compounded by dense fog and low visibility, disrupting flight operations at multiple airports, including Delhi and Pune. Over 32 flights in and out of Pune were delayed between midnight and noon on Saturday.

At Pune Airport, passengers also faced discomfort due to the disruptions. Hashim Ansari, a passenger present early Saturday, expressed frustration on social media platform X: “No proper facilities to sit and rest. People are seated on carpets.”

Air India Express has not issued a formal statement on the incident, though passengers continue to demand better communication and improved facilities during such delays.