DGCA seeks report from Air India on chartered flight to bring back Indian cricketers from Barbados

A controversy has erupted over the special Air India flight that brought back the T20 world champion Indian team from Barbados. Some passengers on the original flight have claimed that no replacement flight was arranged in place of the cancelled flight.

Air India has cancelled a flight to Delhi and New York on Tuesday, July 2, which was diverted to pick up the Rohit Sharma-led Indian T20 cricket team from Barbados.

Some passengers took to social media and said that Air India’s claims of offering an alternative flight were false. “Air India is lying. I am one of the affected passengers and no other partner airline has offered me travel,” wrote Ankur Verma.

Another Air India passenger, Ajay Awtaney, complained about a last-minute flight cancellation by posting a screenshot of his cancelled flight ticket to Delhi from New York on X (formerly Twitter).

In this context, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked Air India to provide a report, officials said. According to reports, Air India deployed the aircraft to Barbados, which was originally scheduled to operate a scheduled flight from Newark to Delhi, causing difficulties to passengers.

The DGCA rules issued in 2017 stipulate that to operate a non-scheduled international flight, an airline cannot withdraw scheduled flights. This implies that the airline must have a spare aircraft to operate the charter flight. “For operation of charter flights by scheduled operators, there should be no disruption to their scheduled flights,” the rules said.

An Air India official said passengers were not inconvenienced by the deployment of the Boeing 777 aircraft in Barbados.

Most of the passengers who had booked tickets for the Newark-Delhi flight on July 2 had been informed in advance. However, some passengers who could not be informed about the flight cancellation turned up at the airport and were taken by road to New York. These passengers were accommodated on the New York-Delhi flight, the official added.

“Air India managed to send a chartered flight in close coordination with BCCI officials to bring the players home. Fortunately, this aircraft could be made available after accommodating the passengers who were scheduled to fly from Newark to Delhi on another Air India flight,” PTI reported.

The Indian cricket team was stranded in Barbados after a Category 4 hurricane hit the Caribbean islands of Bridgetown, Barbados in the early hours of July 1, delaying their departure home by at least another day.

Indian team returns home

The special charter flight bearing the specific call sign AIC24WC – Air India Champions 24 World Cup – took off at around 4:50 am local time and landed in New Delhi on Thursday at around 7:00 am (IST).

The BCCI shared a video of the players collecting the trophy from the chartered plane. A large group of fans welcomed the team at the airport.

Captain Rohit Sharma left the airport with the trophy in his hand. Virat Kohli received a warm welcome and the star player greeted the fans, acknowledging their support.

After a long journey of around 18 hours, the team finally landed in India, as fans waited in long queues since late night to see their favourite stars. Special arrangements were made for the team’s reception at the airport and hotel.

After a special meeting with the Prime Minister, the team will fly to Mumbai for a special fan roadshow from Nariman Point to Wankhede Stadium where the entire team will be honoured.