Ahmedabad-Jodhpur flight delayed, cancelled due to technical snag

AHMEDABAD: Most part of New Year Eve was spent shuffling around at the Ahmedabad airport for some 79 passengers travelling to Jodhpur via SpiceJet flight SG-2976, as their flight got delayed and later cancelled. Passengers said that the flight was scheduled to take-off from the city airport at 10.40am however, there were a series of announcements of delay which pushed the flight’s take-off time to around 3pm.

Airports Authority of India (AAI) confirmed that the flight took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport at 3.09 pm, only to return to the city airport within minutes.

Narrating the incident, Manish Mehta (name changed), a traveller, said, "The flight did not take off till 11am, by when we were informed that the flight would take-off by 1pm. By then we learnt that the flight would take-off at 3pm. However, immediately after take-off, the flight had to return to the city airport due to some technical snag.”

AAI officials confirmed that the aircraft had suffered a technical snag due to which it had to return immediately after take-off. “At time 3.15pm while at 15,000 ft above ground, the pilot informed Ahmedabad Air Traffic Control (ATC) that the aircraft had pressurization failure. In view of the safety of passengers and aircraft, ATC immediately facilitated priority landing of the aircraft. The flight landed at Ahmedabad at time 3.29pm safely,” said a statement issued by AAI officials.

According to AAI officials, some 83 passengers were aboard the flight including two infants and four crew members. “All the passengers are safe and have been served with Tea, coffee and snacks at the Airport. The airline meanwhile made arrangements to connect the passengers to Jodhpur either via Delhi or Mumbai. Passengers have also been offered road transport. Those passengers who have desired to cancel their journey have been given full refund of the airfare,” AAI officials further said.

“We will be heading to Mumbai through a flight tonight and are provided accommodation there. We will go to Jodhpur through another flight next morning,” added Mehta, a student who is visiting his relatives in Jodhpur.

When contacted, the airline spokesperson said, “SpiceJet flight SG 2976 operating from Ahmedabad to Jodhpur on Dec 31, faced a technical issue after take-off, after which the pilots decided to return to Ahmedabad. The aircraft made a normal landing in Ahmedabad. Due to sunset restrictions in Jodhpur, the flight was cancelled. SpiceJet sincerely apologises to its passengers for the inconvenience caused due to the cancellation.”