Delhi-bound passengers had a harrowing time at the Pune airport on Monday due to the alleged apathy of airline authorities in informing them about the flight delays caused by season’s first fog that engulfed the national capital.
After receiving a call on Monday morning that his elder sister met with an accident in New Delhi, software techie Mansingh Pundir’s only concern was to get on the first flight to his hometown.
However the 23-year-old was in for a rude shock when he reached Pune airport and learnt that the heavy fog cover in the capital had delayed flight operations by nearly three hours.
“I only learnt about the delay after reaching the airport and now I am helpless as my mother is handling everything alone there,” he said.
Pundir wasn’t alone as several passengers were stranded at Pune airport as 15 flights to the capital were delayed for more than three hours on Monday as the New Delhi airport was closed for operations for a few hours due to heavy fog cover. Passengers said that airlines didn’t even inform them about the delay and as a result, they arrived several hours earlier at the airport.
IT professional Abhinav Goyal (23) had to reach Delhi for a family emergency, but he couldn’t reach in time.
“I wanted to reach by evening. However, I had to wait for hours at the Pune airport itself. They didn’t even inform me about the delay in flight and I was forced to sit at the airport,” he said.
Pune airport director Manoj Gangal said, “Most of the flights that were leaving from Pune to New Delhi were delayed by more than three hours. The operations resumed as incoming flights from Delhi were on time towards late evening.”
While passengers complained of airlines not informing them about the delay in flights, airline representatives said they tried their best to inform passengers.
SpiceJet airways station manager Adil Palia, said, “We tried to send messages to all the passengers. We did not receive any complaint from passengers. We also made an announcement at the Pune airport regarding re-scheduling of flight.”
The Delhi airport officials said that flight operations were delayed as the runway visibility dropped to less than 50 metres in the morning. However, visibility improved later during the day, normalising operations thereon.
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