Air India Faces Major Delays Amid Technical Issues and Crew Limitations

Air India's Delhi to Vancouver flight, initially set for June 1, departed 22 hours late due to technical issues and crew limitations. This delay follows other recent disruptions. Despite passenger challenges, Air India, now owned by Tata Group, had not issued an official statement until an apology and travel vouchers were offered for a delayed San Francisco flight.

Air India's Vancouver flight from Delhi, originally scheduled for June 1, was significantly delayed by 22 hours, finally departing at 3.15 am on Sunday, as per sources. The setback was attributed to 'technical' problems that forced the airline to reschedule.

An Air India spokesperson confirmed that AI 185 faced delays first due to technical issues and then due to crew reaching the mandatory Flight Duty Time Limitations. This instance marks at least the third substantial delay for Air India's long-haul flights within a week. Another notable delay involved a Delhi-San Francisco flight, which was postponed by over 30 hours recently.

Despite the considerable inconvenience caused to passengers, including accounts of passengers boarding without air conditioning and being subsequently deplaned, the Tata Group-owned airline has largely refrained from issuing official statements. However, after the Delhi-San Francisco flight faced massive delays, Air India apologized to passengers and provided a travel voucher worth USD 350. Additionally, the airline has faced scrutiny from aviation regulator DGCA, including a show cause notice for the delays and failure to adequately address passenger needs.