Air India Flight AI129 Mumbai-London Delayed By 7 Hours, Passengers Stranded At Airport

Mumbai Airport: A Mumbai-London flight, originally scheduled to depart at 6:30 a.m. from Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, was rescheduled to leave at 1:00 p.m. The flight was nearly 7 hours delayed on Saturday due to a technical glitch, which left passengers disappointed and prompted them to take to social media to vent their frustration. 

Frustrated passengers said the boarding for the flight began around 6 am, nearly 40 minutes later than the scheduled 5:20 a.m. However, after boarding, passengers were made to wait inside the aircraft for almost one and a half hours before the crew announced that a technical problem had been detected. The passengers were then made to deboard the plane. At around 8.15 am, passengers were deboarded, and their hand baggage was rechecked. 

They were later informed that the flight's departure had been rescheduled to noon. It was again revised to 1 pm. Several passengers, most of whom had stayed awake through the night for the early morning flight, expressed frustration over the extended delay and lack of clarity from Air India officials. 

"Air India flight AI129, scheduled to depart from Mumbai for London at 6:30 a.m., is delayed and yet to take off. Due to technical difficulties, the flight will now take off at 1 pm. Passengers have been provided with refreshments," the airline said in a statement.

Mumbai Airport Operations Hit Briefly

The incident comes a day after flight operations at Mumbai airport were partially affected due to an air traffic control glitch at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. However, operations were smooth by the evening. The ATC glitch impacted over 800 flights at IGI, the country's busiest airport. 

Its ripple effects were felt not only in Mumbai, but also across several northern Indian cities such as Jaipur and Lucknow. Operations, however, returned to normal on Saturday despite some delays being reported. 

Also Read: Delhi IGI Airport Resumes Flight Operations After AMSS Glitch Delays Over 200 Flights