SpiceJet passengers wait long at Delhi airport aerobridge; airline says delay due to crew exceeding the duty time limit

Passengers of a Bengaluru-bound SpiceJet plane were left waiting for a long time at the aerobridge at Delhi airport on Tuesday, with the airline saying the flight was delayed due to weather disruption that led to incoming crew exceeding their duty time limit.

The incident happened with passengers of SpiceJet flight SG 8133 from Delhi-Bengaluru. A SpiceJet spokesperson said the flight was delayed on account of weather disruption in the network and the aircraft’s previous rotation. “As a result, the incoming crew was not legal to operate the subsequent flight to Bengaluru and crew was arranged from another incoming flight which was legal as per duty time limitation,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

According to the statement, as passengers had completed the security check they were requested to wait at the aerobridge. On social media a video of many co-passengers waiting at the aerobridge. The airline said that water was served to passengers who were on the lower floor near the aircraft door and aerobridge passage. “The video was shot outside of the boarding gate which had limited access. All passengers on the said flight were provided service recovery vouchers,” it added.

Further, the airline said that on average, the turnaround time for a Boeing aircraft is 40-45 minutes at Delhi airport and for this particular flight, it was around 20 minutes more than the average turnaround time.

The incident of the delayed flight has caused a great inconvenience to the passengers and has raised questions about the safety and efficiency of the airline. The passengers were made to wait for an unacceptable amount of time at the aerobridge without any proper explanation or assistance. The airline must ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future and that passengers are not put through such an experience.