The SpiceJet flyers on Mumbai-Dubai route have been facing severe delays in flight departure for the last two days which even resulted in heated arguments between the passengers and the ground staff. The flight on Sunday departed over 11 hours late than its scheduled time resulting in passengers protesting against the airline right at the airport.
SpiceJet’s flight no SG-59 faced severe delays on Saturday and Sunday as the flights departed five and 11.5 hours late respectively. The flight, which is scheduled to depart at 2am, departed at 7.08am on Saturday and 1.23pm on Sunday.
On Sunday, passengers lost their cool when the flight got over 10 hours late and sat on the floor at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport’s Terminal-2 as a mark of protest against the airline. In a video which has went viral on the internet, passengers can be heard sloganeering “SpiceJet Chor Hai” (SpiceJet is a thief) as they alleged that the airline failed to provide basic amenities such as food and water during the prolonged wait. Many also complained of a lack of coordination and support from the airline’s ground staff, which added to their distress.
The flight also reached at Dubai International Airport very late on both the days resulting in late departure on consecutive routes. Flight SG-60, scheduled to depart at 4pm, departed at 8.25pm on Saturday and had not departed on Sunday till the time of press. According to Flightradar24, Mumbai-Dubai flight SG-59 is also expected to depart 5.5hr late.
SpiceJet said that the delay was caused due to a technical issue which was recorded at last minute. Talking to The Free Press Journal, the airline’s spokesperson said, “While the aircraft was being attended to, the process took longer than anticipated, resulting in the operating crew exceeding their Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL). A new set of crew was arranged, and the flight has since departed and landed safely in Dubai.“
