Flight delays worry passengers

Hyderabad: Delays and cancellation of flights have become a major cause of concern for passengers. Travellers say they are left in the lurch when flights are delayed or cancelled as the airlines do not respond adequately or refund the fare immediately to enable them take other flights.

There is a mechanism in place to lodge complaints and claim compensation but passengers say this is time consuming. On sectors like Hyderabad-Vijayawada, passengers can reach their destinations quicker by road than in a flight from Hyderabad if it is delayed by two hours.

In case of international flights, the delay adds up as check-in time is three hours before departure. “It takes 45 minutes to go to the RGI Airport from the city. Passengers have to report an hour before the flight, and the flying time to Vijayawada is 30 minutes. It takes another half-an-hour to reach Vijayawada from the Gannavaram airport. If the flight is delayed by two hours, it becomes nearly five hours. If we drive, we can reach Vijayawada in about four-and-a-half hours at a much lesser cost,” said M.R. Gupta, a regular passenger.

As per data available with the DGCA, Air Pegasus, Air Costa and Trujet topped the flight cancellation list in April and May. Air Asia, Jetlite, Jet Airways, Air India, Spicejet, GoAir. IndiGo and Vistara make up the rest.

Air Travellers Association of India president D. Varada Reddy said the passenger-centric policies of the civil aviation ministry existed only on paper. “If passengers are stranded, they are not informed about the reasons and the duration. Not all airlines provide accommodation and food. Strong steps are needed to control airlines, he said. Aviation historian P. Anuradha Reddy said there were complaints that flights have been cancelled due to insufficient passengers but passengers are told the flight was cancelled due to “technical reasons.”

“The DGCA should strictly look into these complaints,” she said.
Asked about this, an airline official  said, “Flights get delayed or cancelled due to a mix of reasons. It can be passengers getting confused regarding the boarding time or a change of gate, inclement weather or technical and operational problems. No airline would like to get a bad name by delaying flights.”