Weather trouble: Air India Express flight to Jaipur takes off 10 hours late from Bengaluru airport

Bengaluru: An Air India Express flight scheduled to fly to Jaipur from Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) Saturday witnessed a 10-hour delay.

Flight IX 1526 was initially scheduled to take off from Bengaluru by 7.25pm and reach Jaipur at 10pm, in 2 hours and 35 minutes. However, the take-off kept getting delayed, and passengers were frustrated as the aircraft supposed to reach Jaipur Saturday night did not even take off.

Finally, the aircraft cleared all procedures and was given permission to take off only at 5.19am Sunday, delayed by almost 10 hours. It reached Jaipur International Airport at 7.52am. On Sunday evening, also, the flight was yet to take off from Bengaluru at the time of this report.

Air India Express later clarified that the delay was mostly due to adverse weather conditions in Bengaluru and across the flight route. “Weather conditions were not appropriate for the aircraft to fly. That is why there was this delay, and the passengers were given an option of a full refund or rescheduling if they wanted, as per Directorate General of Civil Aviation protocol,” a spokesperson told TOI.

The carrier also clarified that it offered passengers a stay if they wanted to wait for the flight to take off as and when the weather conditions improved. They also added that several other flights, though not this long, took off late because of the situation.

Sources also stated that operational constraints due to Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) on pilots might have impacted the late take-off.