Chennai: At least 45 passengers protested and demanded compensation from a private airline after one of its flights from Chennai to Goa via Mumbai was delayed for over five hours on Friday at Chennai airport.
This is the first time air passengers in Chennai unitedly asked for compensation quoting recent order of the Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) for unexplained delay.
It all started with the 9.10 pm SpiceJet flight from Chennai announcing a delay of one hour. The take off was further delayed with the flight finally taking off at 2.19 am, Saturday.
The constant announcement of delay irked a group of passengers, who started arguing with the airline staff. The passengers bombarded the staff with queries and sought compensation citing DGCA rules.
DGCA had announced six months ago that passengers are entitled for compensation for unexplained cancellation and delay of flights. The staff at Chennai airport told passengers that they were not in a position to decide on compensation and that only the headoffice in Delhi can decide.
With passengers turning unruly, the airline alerted the police. A police team from the airport police went to the scene and pacified the passengers after getting a complaint from them.
