Following the surmounting allegations against Air India for diverting an aircraft scheduled from Newark to New Delhi to Barbados instead just to be able to bring the World Cup-winning Indian Cricket team back to India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has sought a clarification on the incident.
According to the accusations, the passengers were moved and inconvenienced and weren’t even given a substitute DGCA seeks clarification from Air India following allegations of cancelling a scheduled flight to charter Team India’s flight. This happened on the 2nd of July, when flight cancelled the Delhi-bound flight and deployed the aircraft to Barbados, just to be able to fly the team back.
“The DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) is in touch with flight on this issue… after passengers complained that their scheduled flight was cancelled and they were not given an alternative,” government sources said.
The DCGA seek a detailed report from Air India. According to a PTI quote, who are in touch with the sources, “Air India managed to send a flight on a charter basis in close coordination with the BCCI officials to bring the players home. Fortunately, this aircraft could be made available after accommodating the passengers due to fly from Newark to Delhi on another Air India flight.”
The DCGA rules specify that airlines must have spare aircraft available for charters as they are not allowed to prioritise non-scheduled departures over scheduled operations.
The charter flight carrying Team India with the call sign AIC24WC (Air India Champions 24 World Cup) departed from Barbados and landed in New Delhi at 7am. Air India officials claim that passengers were informed about the cancellation of their flights in advance and were given different accommodations for their inconvenience.
The claims also clarify that these passengers were given an option to take the road to New York, where they were then put on a different flight from New York to Delhi.
Some passengers of the flight took to social media to deny Air India’s claims of alternate flights. “Air India is lying. I am one of the affected passengers and I was not offered any alternative to travel on partner airlines,” Ankur Verma, @AnkurVe12068333 on X posted in response to the situation.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had put an imperative need for bringing the team back home as their arrival had been delayed due to Hurricane Beryl, hence the need for the chartered flight.
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