AI 880 took off from Bagdogra in West Bengal, despite the malfunctioning ACs. The oxygen masks and the oxygen cylinders onboard were not functioning. AI authorities turned a deaf ear to the plight of the passengers.
The passengers of AI 880 will have this flight experience etched in their minds for years to come. Some thousand feet above ground, they were left breathless and gasping for oxygen. The flight took off from Bagdogra airport in the afternoon of July 2 at 1:50 pm and landed at New Delhi at 4:05 pm. Passengers had an inkling about the faulty ACs even before the flight took off, but were assured that they would work fine once the journey started. However, that was not to be.
The next two hours witnessed passengers struggling for survival. They used everything they could to keep themselves from sweating and suffocation. The passenger list comprised of asthma patients and children who found it increasingly difficult to breathe. Some passengers also said that even the oxygen masks were not working and the oxygen cylinders were also empty. Passengers also complained that even when the flight landed in New Delhi, nobody from Air India came forward to apologise for the inconvenience caused. Moreover, when they wished to speak to the authorities, they were denied access.
Speaking to Financial Express, aviation experts say that this could land Air India in grave trouble because a pilot is not allowed to start a flight with malfunctioning ACs. This could cause grave danger to passenger lives. In a flight with 168 passengers, one can only imagine the horror that they may gone through in 3 hours.
