Air India cancels flight to rescue world champion Indian team stranded in Barbados; DGCA seeks report

Aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday sought a report from Air India after a scheduled flight it was supposed to operate was allegedly deployed to fly the victorious Indian team in the T20 World Cup from Barbados.

The DGCA’s decision follows reports that the airline had withdrawn its Boeing 777 originally scheduled to operate a scheduled flight from Newark to Delhi for the journey from Barbados, causing inconvenience to passengers.

At least two DGCA officials confirmed the move. “The regulator has asked Air India to provide a report to establish the facts,” said one of the DGCA officials familiar with the matter.

Aviation expert Mohan Ranganathan said that cancellation of a flight is a serious violation of the DGCA’s Civil Aviation Rules (CAR).

An Air India spokesperson could not be reached for comment.

Live updates on Indian team arrival

An airline official privy to the matter said, “The airline which was originally scheduled to carry the Indian cricket team had to cancel its mission, following which Air India was contacted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). That is when the B777 was identified for the mission.”

He, however, clarified that no passengers were stranded at Newark airport. “All passengers who had booked a Newark-Delhi flight were informed well in advance and were even given the opportunity to choose an alternative option, which minimised the inconvenience caused.”

“Even after this, some passengers could not be informed about the flight cancellation and had to report to the airport. They were, however, taken to New York by road and were accommodated on the New York-Delhi flight,” the official added.

However, one of the passengers, Ankur Verma, who was booked on flight AI 106 with his wife and daughter, claimed that he was neither informed about the cancellation nor compensated. “…I had to book another ticket on American Airlines…”, his post on X read.

“This led the DGCA to ask for a report from the airline to verify the facts,” a second official said.

The T20 World Cup winning team left Barbados on Wednesday afternoon around 2:30 pm (IST) and is expected to land around 5:40 am on Thursday.

India beat South Africa in the final on Saturday. But the team was stranded on the island due to Hurricane Beryl.

The Air India charter flight that took off on July 2 landed at Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados at around 2 am local time. The flight bearing call sign (unique codes assigned to aircraft before operating a flight) AIC24WC took off from Barbados carrying the Indian team, cricket officials and a group of Indian journalists. The call sign stands for Air India Champions 24 World Cup.