Air India suspends 3 employees after flight with civil aviation minister on board is delayed
The AI 459 Delhi-Vijayawada flight was scheduled to depart at 6 am but took off at 7.23 am.
Air India suspended three staff members and issued a warning to a pilot on Wednesday after a flight with over 100 passengers, including Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, on board was delayed by nearly one-and-a-half hours.
The AI 459 Delhi-Vijayawada flight was scheduled to leave at 6 am but took off at 7.23 am. Furious passengers confronted Raju, who then called Air India Chairperson and Managing Director Pradeep Kharola to ask about the delay, ANI reported.
The airline’s operation wing decided to delay the take-off because of poor visibility, but did not communicate this to the ground staff, who started boarding as scheduled, NDTV reported. The departure was delayed further when the pilot reportedly stopped at the security check because of a problem with his airport pass.