Passengers remain stuck at Jaipur airport as Air India pilot refuses to fly

The pilot refused to fly citing flight duty time limitations and duty hour.

Nearly 350 Air India passengers were left stranded at the Jaipur airport for more than three hours as the pilot refused to fly after making an emergency landing.

The London-Delhi Air India flight made an emergency landing at Jaipur airport due to bad weather conditions on Sunday. However, when the flight got clearance to resume the journey to Delhi, the pilot refused to fly it citing flight duty time limitations and duty hours, according to a India Today report.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has set the maximum flying time for a pilot in a period of twenty four hours to eight hours.

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As the 350 passengers were asked to look for alternative options, some of them started their journey to Delhi by road. However, others were able to continue on the same flight once a new crew was arranged .

Air India in an official statement responded to the incident saying, "While the aircraft was waiting for Delhi weather to improve and take off, the cockpit crew came under FDTL, that is Flight Duty Time Limitations. Pilots cannot operate a flight once they come under the FDTL, as laid down by regulatory authorities. Air India accords top priority to safety of its passengers and crew and strictly adhering to the operations regulations, immediately arranged a fresh set of crew to operate the flight."