Mumbai to Dubai Air India flight delayed by over 4 hours due to technical issue

Air India flight AI909 MumbaiDubai has been delayed for over 4 hours and 45 minutes as of 115 PM The flight was originally scheduled to depart at 825 AM with boarding starting at 720 AMAccording to sources the aircraft faced a technical issue which the onground team tried to resolve The pilots later requested a pushback but cancelled the request as the issue persisted Passengers were deboarded around 1 PM after they started protesting inside the aircraftSources further disclosed following the deboarding the aircraft was declared AOG aircraft on ground and a replacement aircraft has been designated for the route The replacement aircraft will arrive in Mumbai shortlyAccording to ATC sources the new estimated time of departure for Air Indias MumbaiDubai flight AI909 is 4 PMKavin Shah a passenger onboard told Midday we boarded the aircraft around 730 AM There was no movement until 9 AM Later an announcement was made that there was a technical issue and the staff was trying to resolve it Around 10 AM another announcement stated that the issue was still persisting and engineers had been called in Around 12 PM we started panicking as the air conditioning wasnrsquot working and the doors were closed causing suffocation Passengers staged a protest inside the aircraft after which we were allowed to deboardHe added now wersquore unsure what the next steps will be as the delay is much longer and there has been no communication from the airline since the deboardingMidday has sent an official query to Air India for a statement which has been acknowledged by the airline spokespersonAn official statement is awaitedFourth major delay hits IndiaIstanbul flights in two monthsWithin two months this is the fourth major disruption in theIndiaIstanbul sector On Thursday Indigo flight 6E11 DelhiIstanbul was delayed for over 18 hours The passengers alleged that they were made to wait at the airport for hours before the airline arranged for accommodation The flight was scheduled to depart at 640 am on January 23 but departed at 120 am on January 24 This led to many missing connecting flightsA passenger said ldquoThe airline is responsible for the passengers in case of delays This was not a delay caused by the fog as well We were told that there was a technical issue but does it take 18 hours to solve a technical issuerdquoThe passenger added ldquoThe airline could have easily arranged for an alternate aircraft in this timeframe and the delay could have been reduced Many were supposed to board a connecting flight from Istanbul which they missedrdquoThis is not the first time the IndiaIstanbul sector faced massive delays On December 28 2024 Indigo flight 6E17 Mumbai to Istanbul faced a 16 hours delay and passengers were stuck inside the terminal building The passengers had to go through security checks three times as they were boarded on the aircraft twice and then deboarded before they were allowed to board for the third for departureOn December 11 2024 an IndiGo flight from Istanbul to Mumbai was delayed for over two days with the passengers being stranded at Istanbul airport On December 13 an IndiGo flight from Istanbul to Delhi was also delayed The number of passengers stranded at Istanbul airport back then surpassed 400 The situation was such that the Consulate General of India in Istanbul had to step inIndiGosent two aircraft from India to Istanbul to bring passengersAfter the latest incident passengers expressed concerns about frequent delays on flights between Istanbul and India A passenger stranded in Delhi during the latest 18hour delay on Thursday told midday ldquoIrsquom not sure whatrsquos going wrong on this route Flights in this sector have faced significant delays over the past month Why is this route one of the most affectedrdquoWhy are connecing flights missed if a flight to Istanbul gets delayedIstanbul Airport serves as a hub for connecting flights from India to a wide range of countries across Europe the Middle East Africa and Asia primarily due to its strategic location between continents and its status as a major hub forTurkish Airlines Particularly prominent destinations are countries like Germany France UK Saudi Arabia and UAE Istanbul Airport which opened in 2018 has been revealed as the worldrsquos bestconnected airport in August 2024 according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium