New Delhi: Air India’s Flight AI176 from San Francisco to Bengaluru via Kolkata on July 21 turned into a nightmare for nearly 160 passengers, as the Boeing 777 aircraft took off eight hours behind schedule due to a malfunctioning door in the Business Class section.Passengers were allegedly misinformed for hours that the delay was due to aircraft cleaning.Passengers reported that the Business and Premium Economy sections were cordoned off with tape before the flight finally departed at 5:45 am on July 22.According to sources, five Business Class passengers who refused to travel in Economy were left behind, while 25 others were reassigned to Economy seating.The flight, primarily carrying senior citizens returning from visits to their children in Silicon Valley, was marked by confusion and a lack of communication.Sangeetha Krishnan (name changed), a passenger traveling with her three young children, recounted, “The SFO-India flight is usually packed at this time of year, and we had booked our Economy tickets eight months in advance at ₹75,000 each. Our scheduled departure was 9 pm (US time) on July 21.First, we were told it would be delayed to 11 pm, then to midnight. The only explanation provided was that cleaning was taking longer than expected.”It wasn’t until just before 5 am on July 22 that passengers were informed of a technical issue with a door located near the Business and Premium Economy section. Only Economy Class passengers were allowed to board.“There was a lot of anxiety once the technical issue was announced, especially given recent aviation incidents in India. Many elderly passengers were in wheelchairs, unsure of what to do. A toddler cried non-stop the entire time,” she said.“The flight finally took off at 5:45 am. The affected seats were sealed off with tape to prevent access. We missed our connecting flight from Bengaluru to Chennai and couldn’t be with my elderly father on his birthday. My parents ended up waiting at Chennai airport for eight hours,” Krishnan added.Other passengers also missed connecting flights to destinations such as Coimbatore, Chennai, and Madurai. A senior citizen couple traveling to Sivakasi had to book a cab from Bengaluru to Madurai to continue their journey.According to a senior pilot, the aircraft was leased from Delta Airlines and typically has around 50 seats in Business and Premium Economy, along with 270 seats in Economy Class.Air India confirmed the incident in a statement. They said, “Flight AI176 operating from San Francisco to Bengaluru on July 21 experienced a technical issue related to one of the aircraft doors.As the fault could not be immediately rectified, the door was declared inoperative. In accordance with regulatory safety protocols, some passengers were shifted to Economy Class.The reason for the change was communicated to all affected passengers. Alternative travel or full refunds were offered to five passengers who chose not to travel with the newly assigned seats.”The airline added,“The flight made a scheduled technical stopover at Kolkata for refuelling due to airspace closures over Pakistan and parts of the Middle East. Our ground staff in San Francisco made every possible effort to minimise inconvenience caused to passengers.”This route, originally launched with much fanfare on January 9, 2021, featured an all-women cockpit crew on its inaugural direct non-stop flight from San Francisco to Bengaluru.Operations were temporarily suspended last month when the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) mandated extensive checks on all Boeing aircraft following the Ahmedabad runway incident.
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