Due to poor weather, an Air India flight from London to Delhi had to make an emergency landing in Jaipur, and the pilot refused to take off because of the delay.
After making an emergency landing in Jaipur on Sunday due to poor weather, the pilot of an Air India flight from London to Delhi refused to take the controls of the aircraft. He explained his hesitancy by citing the restrictions on flight duty duration and duty hours. 350 passengers were left detained for 5 hours at the Jaipur airport and forced to find other transportation to Delhi.
Due to the pilot’s refusal, roughly 350 passengers were left detained at the Jaipur airport for almost three hours and had to make alternative plans to get to Delhi.
As the weather at Delhi Airport deteriorated, the flight AI-112, which was initially due to land in Delhi at around 4 am, was diverted to Jaipur. Before being redirected to Jaipur, it remained in the sky in a circle for nearly ten minutes.
The London-bound flight, along with a few other aircraft that were also diverted to Jaipur, was given permission by Delhi Air Traffic Control (ATC) to resume its flight to Delhi after roughly two hours.
But instead of continuing, the pilot got off the plane. About 350 passengers, who were consequently stranded at the airport, were asked to look for alternative arrangements. After about three hours, some of them were transported to Delhi by road, while others were able to proceed to Delhi on the same flight after a replacement crew was arranged.
However, Air India, in its official statement, responded by saying that the London-Delhi AI112 flight was diverted to land at Jaipur at 4 am due to inclement weather and poor visibility in Delhi.
“The cockpit crew came under FDTL, or Flight Duty Time Limitations, while the aircraft was waiting for the weather in Delhi to clear up so it could take off. Once they fall under the FDTL, pilots are prohibited from operating a flight, according to regulatory authorities. The safety of its passengers and crew is Air India’s first priority, and the airline swiftly organised a new crew to handle the trip while strictly adhering to operational requirements, according to the airline.
