Air India crew delays flight

Air India on Friday sought an explanation from the crew members of a Mumbai-Toronto flight operated on April 15 for reporting to work late.

The crew reported seven hours late on duty. As the result the flight operated via Cairo in view of the aerospace closure in Europe owing to volcanic ash, was delayed by 16 hours. Airline sources said that Cairo being a new destination, the crew was busy sight seeing leaving about 150 passengers in the lurch.

“They [crew] have to explain the cause of this long delay,” said an AI spokesperson.

Under normal circumstances a flight to Toronto goes via London. The national carrier also claimed that the crew was stuck at immigration counters and struggled to find hotel rooms at Cairo because it’s was a new destination. In addition, the vehicle ferrying them to the airport apparently dropped them at the wrong terminal.

“Passengers were livid. They were going home after spending several hours at the airport,” said an airline official requesting anonymity. The airline had shifted the cabin crew from Frankfurt to Cairo to facilitate operations there.