DGCA probing altercation between AirAsia staff, passengers: Jayant Sinha
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has started a probe in an incident in which passengers of an AirAsia India flight from Kolkata to Bagdogra got into an altercation with the airline staff after the flight was delayed by over 4-hours. In a tweet, Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha said, "DGCA is reviewing the incident and we will take appropriate follow-up action."
Jayant Sinha's tweet
Behavior of AirAsia's staff was 'unprofessional, rude': IOC Executive Director
Indian Oil Corporation Executive Director (West Bengal), Dipankar Ray, who was also traveling on the same flight, had complained of very "unprofessional and rude" behavior from the airline staff. "The flight was scheduled to depart at 9am and was initially delayed by 30 minutes. After boarding, we kept sitting inside the aircraft for one-and-a-half hours with no food or water at all," Ray said.
Captain asked passengers to de-board flight without explanation, claims Ray
Ray claimed that the flight captain instructed all passengers to de-board without any explanation. "When passengers refused to deboard due to heavy rains outside, the captain put the air-conditioning blower on full blast to hound the passengers out. It created a scary scene," Ray added. He also uploaded a video on Twitter, where passengers can be seen arguing with the staff.
Here's the video uploaded by IOC Executive Director
AirAsia accepted flight was delayed, expressed regrets
AirAsia India has accepted that the flight was delayed and expressed regrets. It further said, "There was no danger to any of the occupants as the cool conditioned air being circulated was condensing." "This is a normal occurrence onboard all aircraft when the air conditioning is operated in high humidity conditions," AirAsia said. The airline claimed it had offered refreshments and provided alternate arrangements.
AiAsia's treatment was unacceptable, says Ray
Countering AirAsia's claims, Ray said the airline asked them to go to the airport's food court and show boarding passes to get food. However, food court refused to give them food. "There was no communication from AirAsia at all. We had to pay. While boarding flight second time, they gave us one sandwich and a 250ml water-bottle. This is an unacceptable treatment," he said.
