About 160 passengers were stranded and faced a harrowing time, as an Air India flight from Chandigarh to Mumbai via Delhi was cancelled on Wednesday due to the ongoing strike by union employees.
The incoming AI flight (ICA64) from Mumbai to Chandigarh was also cancelled, making many city residents miss important appointments. Passengers, who had booked tickets, were a disappointed lot.
“This is really harassing. The airlines’ casual attitude will not be accepted. They have no right to trouble us like this,” said city resident GRP Gupta, who had to go to Delhi.
“I had to reach Mumbai to attend a meeting, but the strike has held up my plans,” said a local businessman.
The stranded passengers went to Delhi by taxies and only a few could arrange tickets of other airlines.
“I had booked my ticket through an agency, but after my flight got cancelled, I took Kingfisher Airlines,” said HS Sandhu, one of the passengers.
Many travel agencies either had to return the money or provide other modes of travel. “Today, seven to eight bookings for Air India have been cancelled and people are going for other airlines,” said an official of Destiny Travels.
Airport officials said to mitigate passengers’ plight, they either returned their money or provided them with services, like taxi, to Delhi, from where they were re-routed to other flights. “We are trying to cooperate with people and provide them with alternatives,” an official said.
The flight was scheduled to leave at 2.50 pm from
Chandigarh to Delhi, from where it was to leave for Mumbai at 5 pm.
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