Mangaluru: An Air India Express flight scheduled to depart for Dubai from Mangalore International Airport faced a delay of 12 hours due to a technical fault. The flight, which was supposed to take off at 11.05 p.m. on Monday night, finally departed at 12.10 p.m. on Tuesday.
As a result of the prolonged delay, approximately seven passengers opted to cancel their journeys and made alternative travel arrangements. However, 161 passengers decided to continue with their travel plans and boarded the flight to Dubai.
Passengers were informed about the technical fault with flight IX813 and were initially informed that the flight would be diverted to Thiruvananthapuram, with accommodation provided at a hotel. From Thiruvananthapuram, they would proceed to Dubai. However, most passengers expressed a preference for an empty flight to be brought directly from Thiruvananthapuram to Mangalore, allowing for a non-stop journey. Responding to this feedback, Air India arranged for a replacement flight from Thiruvananthapuram to Mangalore, enabling the passengers to continue their journey to Dubai.
Meanwhile, flight IX383, originally scheduled to depart at 9.15 a.m. on Tuesday, was rescheduled for 6.45 p.m.
Air India expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to passengers and released a statement addressing the situation. “The flight scheduled for Dubai on Monday night was able to fly to Thiruvananthapuram. Passengers were told that the flight would proceed to Dubai after maintenance work was completed in Trivandrum. However, as the passengers preferred to wait for the empty flight to arrive from Thiruvananthapuram, there were delays. We have ensured continuous catering for passengers, and passengers have also cooperated,” the statement read.
