Passengers booked on an Air India Express flight connecting Delhi, Surat, and Bangkok endured a harrowing ten-hour delay on Tuesday, leading to widespread frustration and missed international connections. The cascading series of disruptions, caused first by weather and then by a technical incident, left over a hundred travelers stranded at Surat Airport.
Fog in Delhi Sets Off Chain of Delays
The ordeal for travelers began early in the day. The flight, originally scheduled to depart from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport at 5:25 am, was held back for approximately four hours. The primary reason for this initial delay was dense fog blanketing the national capital, a common winter woe that severely impacts flight schedules. Consequently, the aircraft landed at Surat Airport around 11:15 am, far behind its planned arrival time of 7:30 am.
Bird Strike Discovery Compounds the Crisis
The situation escalated dramatically upon landing in Surat. The pilot reported a suspected bird strike during the approach or landing phase. While airport ground staff initially could not spot any evidence, a subsequent detailed inspection revealed the grim cause. A dead bird was found lodged in the engine's fan blades, confirming the strike. This necessitated a thorough safety check of the aircraft, grounding it indefinitely and leaving approximately 130 passengers in limbo.
Passengers expressed growing anger and anxiety during the extended wait, citing a severe lack of clear communication from airline officials. Many highlighted that timely and transparent updates could have allowed them to explore alternative arrangements for their onward journeys from Bangkok to final destinations like China and Vietnam.
Resolution and Eventual Departure
To address the mounting crisis, Air India Express mobilized another aircraft. A replacement flight was ferried in from Jaipur to accommodate all the affected passengers in Surat. After the prolonged and stressful delay, the beleaguered flight finally managed to depart from Surat at 8:41 pm, nearly twelve hours after its original scheduled departure from Delhi and almost eleven hours late from its Surat departure time of 9 am.
This incident underscores the vulnerability of air travel to a combination of natural and unforeseen events, and highlights the critical need for airlines to maintain proactive passenger communication during operational crises to mitigate inconvenience.
