Air India sends passengers on bus from Jaipur to Delhi after Paris flight diverted

A Paris-New Delhi Air India flight on Sunday was diverted to Jaipur over the pilots’ refusal to fly after having completed their duty hours. For several hours, the passengers were stranded in Jaipur and were later sent to Delhi by road, an NDTV report said.

The publication added that there was no official statement over the incident from Air India, however as per their sources, no alternative flight was arranged for the stranded passengers as it would take longer than sending them on a bus.

The Air India flight AI-2022 took off from Paris at 10:00 pm and was scheduled to reach Delhi the next day at 10:35 am. It thus got diverted to Jaipur due to the extreme smog condition in the national capital as the pilots were not apt with making low-visibility landings, the publication added citing sources.

The national capital has been battling with severe air pollution as a thick blanket of smog has been grappling the city for over a week.

While the flight waited for clearance to resume its journey, the pilots, stating that they would not fly post completing their duty hours, refused to fly further.

As per the Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) framed by the DGCA, it is mandatory for flight crew to get a good amount of rest and prevent fatigue-related safety issues.

A stranded passenger named Vishal P on X wrote, "Shameful and pathetic management from @airindia today as flight #AI2022 from CDG-DEL diverted to JAI. Pax stranded at JAI asked to spend 5 hrs inside the aircraft and then to take a bus from JAI to DEL. My wife and two months old is suffering and I am helpless."

The publication citing sources said that due to growing protests, the passengers were finally sent to Delhi on a bus as arranging for an alternative flight would lead to further delays.