Date:06/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/06/stories/2008120659790300.htm

New Delhi

Flight delayed

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: An Indian Airlines Delhi-Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram flight scheduled to take off from Delhi airport at 5-30 p.m. on Friday was delayed by over four hours.

Flight IC-465 was initially delayed as the aircraft designated to fly on the Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram sector was coming from Patna and was running late. Since the incoming flight was late, the outgoing flight too got affected.

“Once the plane landed, the passengers boarded the plane around 7-50 p.m. That’s when the pilot noticed a technical snag and the aircraft had to be changed. So the passengers had to be de-boarded. Another aircraft was available, but it had to be brought from the hangar to the allotted parking bay. That took some time as the plane had to cross a few taxiways to reach there,” claimed an airline official.

However, two Members of Parliament, who were among the passengers, reportedly refused to board the aircraft.

“The flight finally took off at 10-15 p.m., without the two MPs,” the official added.