National carrier Air India faced the ire of Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday, as he expressed his displeasure over social media about an inordinate flight delay he experienced and upset his schedule.
Mr. Naidu said he missed an “important meeting” scheduled to be held in Hyderabad after Air India’s pilot failed to show up even after 30 minutes of the scheduled time of departure. The AI 544 flight was scheduled to depart at 1.15 p.m. from the Delhi airport. He returned home after the pilot didn’t report even by 1.45 p.m.
Air India said the pilot reported late due to traffic jam. “Air India should explain how such things are happening. Transparency and accountability are the need of the hour. Hope Air India understands that we are in the age of competition. Missed an important appointment,” Mr. Naidu said in a series of ‘tweets.’
Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma said Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani would conduct an enquiry into the incident. “We deeply regret the inconvenience caused due to flight delay. The pilot was stuck in traffic jam. Enquiry has been ordered,” AI said in a reply to the Minister’s ‘tweet’.
Air India’s on-time performance has been the poorest among all airlines in the country. Latest official data show only 74.3 per cent of AI’s flights arrived and departed on time in May at metro airports compared with 90.2 per cent by AirAsia, 85.1 per cent by Vistara, 83.1 per cent by IndiGo and 82.3 per cent by Jet Airways. The data showed that 43,827 passengers faced delays beyond two hours — the highest among all domestic airlines in May.
