Air India passengers complain about cancellation of Team India flight, with no alternative; DGCA steps in

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has sought a report from Air India after some passengers complained on social media that Air India was lying about providing an alternative after the cancellation of a flight to Delhi from Newark, which was sent to bring back the Indian team from Barbados.

According to government sources, the DGCA is in contact with the airline on this issue.

“The DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) is in touch with Air India on this issue… after passengers complained that their scheduled flight was cancelled and no alternative was provided to them,” sources said.

In this context, officials said on Wednesday (July 3) that the aviation regulator has also sought a report from Air India on the issue as it was reported that the cancellation of the scheduled flight from Newark to Delhi had caused hardship to passengers.

On social media, some passengers claimed 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 a flight,” Ankur Verma said in a post on X.

He added, “So Air India has cancelled my flight AI-106 (July 2) today and has not sent any information through phone, email or any other channel. I came to know about it when I checked the flight status before leaving for the airport. No information about refund either. Pathetic.”

“Air India is lying. I am one of the affected passengers and no other partner airline has offered me any alternative travel,” wrote Ankur Verma.

Another passenger, Ajay Awtaney, complained about a last-minute flight cancellation and posted a screenshot of his cancelled flight ticket to Delhi on X.

An Air India official had earlier said that passengers were not inconvenienced by the deployment of the Boeing 777 in Barbados. Most of the passengers who had booked tickets for the Newark-Delhi flight on July 2 had been informed in advance, but some, who could not be informed about the flight cancellation, reported to the airport and were taken by road to New York. These passengers were accommodated on the New York-Delhi flight, the official added.

The T20 World Cup champion Indian cricket team arrived in the national capital on Thursday morning. They flew in from the Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados on a chartered flight with special call sign AIC24WC – Air India Champions 24 World Cup.